Tiger's Balm
by hanabiaki
Summary: After their seperation, Ryuuji and Taiga realized that their love is going to change. He wants to be the absolute boyfriend, she hopes to stand on her feet as an independant woman. Will this be easy, for this crazy couple? Maybe not, but after what they have been though, neither is going down without a fight! A story of the untold courtship between the Tiger and Dragon.
1. With or without you

**Chapter 1: With or without you**

He is no longer sure how many months it is has been since he last saw her smile and how he missed _that_ floral scent from her hair – but he knew that he is missing her even after all these time. For every single day when they are apart, these emotions of sadness and pining welled up to greater volumes. What he would give to hold her in his arms once again, and to be there for her when she stumbles or whenever she's hungry. He already knew what Taiga will be like without him as he has been the one there for her the past two years and always the first to notice her shortcomings and supporting her right away. He had felt such pride for becoming her faithful dragon.

_Is she eating properly? Does she have new injuries again? Will she get into fights with her equally willful mother and be set homeless once more?_

_Does she miss me, the way I miss her?_

Whenever the last thought hit him like a wave, he felt the need to belittle his maturity – the maturity he was so certain he possessed. _Gee, what am I a young kid dealing with puppy love? I should realize by now she's doing a magnificent deed and trying to make things work for our future, _he thought to himself repeatedly.

However the absence of Taiga in his everyday life has made certain facts undeniable to Ryuuji. He is now even more certain of his love, even with this distance his only one wish is to be by her side. He also has a few regrets, why did it take him that long to realize that his true love has been right by his side? He often thought about the course of events that happened between Taiga's forced confession by Minori and the chain that leads to their separation now. If only he knew, how _painful_ it is to only have that brief memory of holding her hand, he would bring her to all the dates she wanted. And make her every dish she desired, bring her flowers and hold her hand and…

_That's it!_ He thought to himself in delight at his new revelation, _I'm going to become the perfect boyfriend Taiga can ever have. And while I do that, I would save and prepare for our future together. Once I'm ready, I will propose to her once more. _

All he needs now, is Taiga's long awaited return.


	2. My hands are small but my heart is big

**Chapter 2: My hands are small but my heart is big**

'Taiga it's time for dinner now!'

Pattering footsteps can he heard and Taiga's sleepy porcelain face appeared. 'I can hear you from across the street you stupid dog.' She gave a long yawn before slumping into a sitting position, her face still veiled in a sleepy daze. 'Yes, yes I was too loud. But how else can I wake you, ever since you developed that habit of getting an afternoon nap when you went to live with your mother, all you ever do is sleep.' A home-slipper hit Ryuuji straight on the head and he hastily caught it in time before it fell into the beef stew he brewed for ages. 'If you have so many complaints about me coming back here, maybe I should return to her!'

Ryuuji felt a wave of panic and nearly dropped the slipper into the stew again. _No, anything but that._ He immediately regretted his words for he only said them because he desired her joyful presence. Ever since she has returned, Ryuuji has felt his life blessed with motivation once more. Small actions like making her meals and walking with her to the grocery stall felt surreal. Although he is now busy with university and only had a few hours a day to do all these daily chores with her, it felt like the most precious thing to ask for. But somewhere in his heart, he could sense a tiny prick of dissatisfaction. Everything had returned to the way things were before Taiga left.

But that's exactly where the problem starts from. Everything remained the same.

All those grand plans he had about becoming her ideal boyfriend had been suspended without notice and the busy schedules of university only made it worse. While Taiga has decided to skip university life and is spending her days between naps and searching for jobs she seem to be alright with the way things are. But he had wished that she would complain about his schedule and be angry at him so he can take the chance to put on top boyfriend behavior. He cursed himself inwardly every time he had that thought, befuddled by how cowardly he acts now when he brazenly asked her to marry him before at the bridge. But with everything being peaceful the way it is, he felt that it would be too much a risk to shift things out of balance.

'Taiga, how's your job search going?' Ryuuji had decided to suppress those petty thoughts and focus on keeping his princess cheery. Already, she is in a bad mood since waking up. 'I haven't looked at anything yet, I guess there's no rush for it.' Ryuuji sighed. Taiga's procrastination will go on forever if he did nothing about it. 'Would you want me to help you with that? You know we can talk about it after dinner. And maybe I'd make some dessert to go with that.' Taiga looked up in delight at the mention of dessert, and Ryuuji's smile widened. However, his expression fell flat immediately when she rejected his invitation.

'No thank you, I'm still sleepy so I'd go back to my apartment to sleep after dinner.'

Ryuuji's heart pounded harder when she said that, unsure of its cause, but he tried to approach the moody tiger once again more gently this time. 'Forget the job search! Why not we just have dessert and not worry about the rest until tomorrow? I bought some azuki beans so let's have azuki paste with –'

'I ALREADY SAID I'M GOING HOME AFTER DINNER!' Taiga continued to lay her head on the table, facing the window and not looking at Ryuuji who dropped the ladle at her outburst.

'Oh.'

Minutes went past as Ryuuji stirred the stew absent-mindedly. He felt hurt, felt his ego pricked by Taiga's harsh response. But more than anything, he felt incredibly lonely that he was the only one who wanted to spend more time together with her. Taiga remained listless and he felt the need to break the silence. He stopped stirring the stew and brought out some bowls. 'Dinner's ready,' he said quietly.

The dinner took place mostly in silence, Yasuko was still away at her new part time job in a beer company and the icy mood was still thick in the air. It only made Ryuuji felt more uneasy that Taiga still seemed mad at him, so he decided to end the awkwardness. 'What would you like for dinner tomorrow? How about Tonkatsu? We can have it with the carrot flowers I learnt to make.' Taiga continued to stare aimlessly at her stew, and Ryuuji wished silently that she'd nod enthusiastically to the yummy potential of tonkatsu like she always does. 'Sure, whatever you decide to cook.' With a clatter, Taiga dropped her utensils and brought the dishes to the kitchen. 'Thank you for the meal!'

Ryuuji rolled over to watch her actions, one minute she was at the kitchen and the next she was putting on her red shoes at the door. He threw down his utensils and hurried to the door but she was already ready to leave. 'Wait! Taiga, at least let me walk you back!' He yelled at the diminishing figure in the doorway.

Ryuuji ran out into the autumn evening and frantically searched for his girlfriend. He had no time to put on his shoes, and ran barefoot after the sprinting figure. 'Wait! Stop! What's the matter, Taiga! Are you mad at me so you don't want to spend time with me? Or are you sick, that's why you're feeling tired all the time. TELL ME!'

He pulled her hand back and stopped to catch his breath. In huffs and puffs, he looked at Taiga's eyes uncertainly. His guts fell to the floor when he caught sight of Taiga's crying face, streaming with fresh tears that just won't seem to stop.

'What? Why? What's wrong?! Did you hurt yourself or knock into something?' Ryuuji fussed over her crying figure while Taiga shook her head and tried to pull her hand away. Ryuuji's heart hurt so badly in a way he never knew it could. Without hesitating he pulled her into a tight embrace until her tears soaked the front of his shirt. 'I'm sorry, please, please don't cry. Tell me slowly, I'd listen, okay?' Taiga tried to wriggle away from his hug, but eventually conceded and hugged Ryuuji back.

'I don't want to burden you, Ryuuji!'

Ryuuji's eyes grew wide and his heart pounded even harder. 'Are you breaking up with me?' 'NO! I'm just scared – Ami told me that you've been tired at school and lessons. It's because you always try to take care of me after school, and I don't even know how I can help. I'm useless at chores. I don't know how to look for jobs and I'm just uselessly depending on you. I HATE THAT!' Ryuuji's arm tightened around Taiga. 'Stop it, you have no idea how painful it is when you were not here, not needing me. I'm not leaving you and you are not burdening me. Taiga sniffled, 'Really? But –' Ryuuji interrupted her with a kiss on her lips, quick but warm even in the chilled air of the night, as he tore away Taiga's eyes widened in surprise. 'This all started because we stopped sharing our thoughts honestly with each other. Come on, we used to be able to do all that. Being boyfriend and girlfriend…' He paused briefly as a blushing red tint crept up his neck at the sudden realization that this is the first time he confirmed their status by speech, 'I mean this change shouldn't change that. Let's go have some dessert and we'd talk it through, alright?' Taiga felt amused by Ryuuji's unexpected embarrassment and forgot about being surprised by his proclamation. 'Stop blushing, you perverted dog!' With that, she put her small hands into his warm ones and walked the way back to his apartment.

Ryuuji smiled to himself, delighted inwardly at the realization that Taiga had been worried about his busy schedule all these time. Her heart had a place for him, and if she's skipping the chance for delicious beef stew and fried tonkatsu, it is a great place indeed.


	3. What I knew all along

**Chapter 3: What I knew all along**

When Yasuko returned home that night, she grinned at the sight of the sleeping couple beside a couple of empty bowls and delighted in the wafting aroma of azuki. Truth be told, she had been worrying quietly for the pair, the changes to their usual routine seem to have put a strain on their usual chemistry. But at the sight of them sleeping peacefully like this, she recognized the progress they have made. As quietly as she can so she would not wake them up, she picked up the used bowls and washed them before bring dinner into her room. Ryuuji would be mad at her for eating in her room, but she can deal with that tomorrow morning.

When Ryuuji woke up the next morning, it was already five. He looked around and felt comforted to see Taiga sleeping like a princess right next to him. They had a heart-to-heart conversation throughout the night and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms. Taiga was telling the truth when she said she was tired, after what Ami told her the day before, she had found it impossible to sleep throughout the night as she worried about the circumstances. But everything has been clarified now, and the warmth of Ryuuji's shoulders felt too comfortable to not fall asleep on. It has been agreed and decided between them that they would treasure their time together and make a plan to prioritize things for the sake of each other. The plan is simple: they will only cook three times a week and spend the other evenings at the family restaurant. On weekends, they will spend more time together and Ryuuji will only work on alternate weeks. Taiga will also start going for interviews that they have both listed out together. On the weekend when Ryuuji does not need to work, they will go on dates like regular couples. Ryuuji had felt delighted that the suggestion came from him easily, and he had not shriveled in embarrassment the way he did after confirming their relationship.

Taiga felt herself dreaming of egg rolls and cream cheese and felt her stomach growl hungrily, forcing her to wake up. When she eventually did so, she felt confounded by her persistent dream. "Gosh, I'm already wide awake so why am I still dreaming of egg rolls and cheese? " Her mouth watered at the sight spread across the table. Laid in a plate beautifully adorned with carrot flowers are rolls of egg and cream cheese and beside it a note with a familiar handwriting on it. 'Left you a breakfast to start the day, there is also rice in the rice-cooker so take a bowl for yourself when you're awake.' Signing off, your boyfriend the perverted dog. 'PFFFT! HAHAHA!' Taiga rolled over in mad laughter, 'THAT PERVERTED DOG!' When the laughter finally subsided, Taiga smiled sweetly and held the note closely, 'Thank you, Ryuuji.'

Taiga was glad they had the earnest chat yesterday and felt closer to Ryuuji than ever. She had never realized that Ryuuji had been thinking about them despite her busy schedule, even when Ryuuji had feelings for Minori it felt like he was always level-headed and prioritized school and personal life diligently. But his revelation that he had been worried about not fulfilling his role as her boyfriend, and how he is anxious to change things, moved her heart. She felt incredibly happy, even happier than the time when he asked her to marry him, which she felt was a move fueled by circumstances rather than sincerity. But now, today, she felt more certain of his feelings.

'Hey Ryuuji, what can I do for you in return?'

When Ryuuji returned home in the afternoon he had hoped to get a few household chores out of the way before it was time for dinner. When he opened the door to expect an empty but messy house from the creative hands of Taiga, he was stunned by the sight presented to him. Every surface area sparkled like a surreal presentation, the culinary washed and dried and in a corner of the room, Taiga sat reading the newspaper like a boss.

'Tai.. Taiga?' Taiga looked up from her newspaper and looked at Ryuuji from the top of her glasses, 'Welcome home, since making dinner is impossible for me, we will eat at the family restaurant. There's still some time, so why don't you get to your homework.' At that, she resumed to reading her papers. Ryuuji's bag dropped to floor with a thud, but Taiga remained unfazed. He felt the strange phenomenon must be a dream. He had no idea how to absorb whatever is happening. 'Uhm, hey Taiga, you did all these?'

'Yes.'

'All by yourself?' he asked tentatively.

'Yes.'

'How – I mean, no offense but – HOW?'

Taiga put the papers down and sighed, sometimes her boyfriend really acts like a dog whenever a new change occurs. 'What's wrong? You're happily wagging your tail and what I've done and yet you choose to question me? Way to go perverted boyfriend!' Taiga blushed at her slip of words, she had meant to say perverted dog boyfriend. Ryuuji's face also flashed equally red, "That's not what I mean! How did you manage all this like you're some reincarnated genius!" The papers flew his way and he dodged it skillfully. 'So are you happy that I did that or not, and what's with the accusation like I did something wrong?' Ryuuji walked over and sat next to Taiga adamantly. 'Thank you very much for your glorius contribution, my queen.' Taiga smiled and made to resume reading her papers, only to realize belatedly that she had just thrown them over minutes ago. Ryuuji sighed and stood up to retrieve the papers. Smiling as he passed her the papers she was reading, Ryuuji sat next to her and felt a surge of joy rise in his chest. 'But seriously, how did you do it Taiga?'

'I read it. Your secret kungfu manuals.'

Ryuuji snorted 'You did what!' Taiga pointed to a neatly stack of notebooks on the second shelf. 'The notebook manuals you made that detailed the glorious holy process of cleaning. I can't believe you would have absolutely everything in there. Now reading instructions and following them, I can still do that much.' Ryuuji felt his cheeks flush red once more, but he knows for sure it has nothing to do with the fact that his secret habit has been revealed by Taiga. She had resumed to reading her papers nonchalantly, her eyelashes casting a soft shadow on her face in the afternoon sun and her cheeks were rosy from her early outburst. He felt a familiar desire tugging on his insides and moved to sit behind Taiga, and then quickly pulled her into a deep embrace. 'Hey Taiga…'

Taiga rushed into a panic at Ryuuji's sudden action and began stammering, 'Wha- wha- what?'

'I love you.'

'I – I – I already know that you BAKA!' She pulled his arms closer and hid her fuchsia face in his hands.


	4. A walk to remember

**Chapter 4: A walk to remember**

The air of autumn is light, crisp and laced with cinnamon taste, it may be the scent of brown leaves weaved into with the wafts of cinnamon coffee selling at Sudohbucks. As they walk down the path to the supermarket, they bickered endlessly about dinner, constantly overwriting each other's input for the menu. 'We should have Tonkatsu fillet every day! Long live meat!' Ryuuji heaved a long sigh, 'I have said this a thousand times, if I were to work only on alternate weekends we need to balance the grocery bills. Besides, it's not healthy to be having meat - OUCH!' Taiga's flying kick sets Ryuuji flying off the walkway. 'What was that for, I'm already your boyfriend and yet you're still kicking me!' Taiga's face flushed red as steam emanated from her head, 'Stop saying you're my boyfriend in public! Have you no shame, you perverted dog!'

What was meant as a joke escalated into a heated conflict, Ryuuji could not help but feel annoyed at Taiga's insensitivity yet he felt a clash between his ego and curiosity. Part of him really wants to find out why Taiga refuses to acknowledge their relationship in public, but his anger is compelling him to walk away from potential shame. Ego triumphs curiosity and he decides to simply walk away.

'Wait, where are you going? Hey, wait for me, Ryuuji!' Taiga's pattering footsteps can be heard from behind but he refuses to stop and turn around. Although he knows how difficult it would be for Taiga to keep up, but he really hope that the argument ends and they can have a proper discussion at home where Taiga's tendencies to flare up in anger is greatly reduced. But first, he would need to cool his head.

'Takasu-kun?'

Surprised by the contrasting mellow voice, Ryuuji looked up at the person who called out to him. Standing a meter ahead of him is his university classmate Rumi. 'What a coincidence, are you in town for some shopping?' Ryuuji took a minute before recovering from his reverie, and bowed his greetings in return before replying, 'Yes, I don't stay too far away so the town's grocer is only a fifteen minutes' walk away. 'Ah!' Ryuuji looked around half expecting Taiga's entrance since she had been following him, only to be surprised that it was his classmate's sharp voice. 'Your face, it's red and swollen. Could it be that you fell just minutes ago?' Ryuuji shifted awkwardly before going on to explain his injury, when his observant classmate made another note of surprise. Her glance fell beyond Ryuuji's standing point to somewhere behind him. Turning around, they came face to face with a fidgety Taiga.

'Ah, Taiga, you've finally appeared. I was wondering where you went to.' Taiga looked away defiantly as she wore a conflicted look. 'Takasu-kun, could this be your girlfriend?' Ryuuji swallowed hard, bracing himself for what was to come next. 'Yes! This is my girlfriend! Her name is Aisaka Taiga, please take care of us from now on!'

_Whaaaaaat? Take care of us from now on! Talk about being polite! _Ryuuji thought in panic, his outburst had surprised him completely, looking up at the two girls glowing in a shade of bright pink he knew that the embarrassment is not his alone. 'Who – who – who's your girlfriend! You perverted dog!' Taiga's retort raised the temperatures of the atmosphere once more, and Rumi looked from Ryuuji to Taiga continuously as she tried fervantly to understand the situation.

As for Ryuuji, he had been bracing himself for the embarrassment of the outburst only to have the winds knocked out of him by Taiga's outright rejection. 'What do you mean, how can you say! Ahhh, that's enough! You spoilt brat who has not once in your life consider other people's feelings, what would you know!'

Tears welled up in Taiga's eyes and Ryuuji felt a sting of regret in his weakened heart, he reached out to Taiga to offer comfort only to be punched into a semi-coma by the small, impactful tiger.

'BAKA RYUUJI! I never want to see you again.'

At that Ryuuji's nose started to bleed, whether it was from the physical injury from Taiga or the wounded hole in his heart, he could no longer fathom.


	5. Tiger has a wound

**Chapter 5: Tiger has a wound**

_Ryuuji must really hate me now. I'm such an idiot, he's right, which girlfriend would punch their beloved and call them names before a cute looking girl._

Taiga slumps to the ground, looking around Ryuuji's apartment and feeling out of sorts. In addition to her mountainous regrets, the great mess she created in the apartment ran down her throat like acid. She felt absolutely certain that no one else would be able to top her actions for being the worst girlfriend in history. When she left a year ago, she made a promise to Ryuuji that she would return stronger, wiser and better prepared for their history together. Now, she feels that the past year has amounted to nothing.

She had fought so hard to return to his side, to return and assist her loyal dragon but now, she's nothing but trouble. And she knows there is no denying it. So, she made a firm decision, in the quiet of the apartment.

Ryuuji tried to absorb every bit of damage left by Taiga's trails. His bleeding nose has finally subsided with the help of Rumi and after being given some water and comforting words, he felt strong enough to walk home. Until the last few words of Taiga hit him like a rock once more. _Who – who – who's your girlfriend! You perverted dog!_

Now he was not as sure if he desires to return home immediately and face Taiga before having the chance to cool his head. He wanted nothing but peace and happiness with his beloved Taiga, but he also knows that she has always been eccentric and although this behavior is full of pricks, he really want to find a way to hold her in his arms. Her absence during the past year has made it certain that this is destiny, for him.

'Thank you for your handkerchief classmate Kirisawa, I'd wash and press them back in perfect condition before returning it to you tomorrow.'

Rumi's eyes glinted as she recalled a rumor from her best friend, _so he is a cleanliness freak. _ 'Don't worry about it Takasu-kun! You don't have to go that far for a handkerchief.' _Though I really want to find out if the rumor is authentic, _thought Rumi. Ryuuji gave a gentle smile that bordered on frightfulness and insisted that he should do that in return for her kindness. Rumi's her heart skipped a beat. Was it because there was a dangerous glint in his eyes when he said that? Or did he look really gentle and sweet for a moment there when he said that. She felt her heart racing as he continued to speak casually about their homework as they walk along the path to the supermarket. Without realizing it herself, her heart and body are being led by Takasu-kun.

'Hey, Takasu-kun.'

'Hm?'

'I think, I may have fallen in love with you.'

'Oh. I see – EHHHHHHHHHHH!?'

Ryuuji backed up until his back hit the lamp post, a chill ran down his spine. 'It –it –it. Classmate Kirisawa, you're – you're joking right?!' Ryuuji stammered helplessly, he had been busy making casual talk to hide his uneasiness that he had not seen this coming. Although the truth is, one can hardly be prepared for a love that evolved from an encounter that lasted for less than ten minutes. 'No, I'm not, _Ryuuji_-kun, I'm sure it's alright? The girl from before clearly did not want to be your girlfriend. So I can contend to be your potential girlfriend right?' Ryuuji felt his temperature rise, Kirisawa sure is talking arrogantly despite knowing nothing about Taiga.

'Please stop this, classmate Kirisawa. My heart is set on Taiga, my soul has been pinning for her whenever she is not by my side. Even now, all I want to do is to see her and hear her voice. She can do whatever she wants and say whatever but I know her better than she knows herself and I know that we are inseparable. Please accept my apologies but I'm rejecting you for the reasons I have just explained.' Ryuuji bowed deeply and stayed still as he waited for her reaction.

'So cool! You are indeed great boyfriend material! You clean, you are defensive of the one you love! I'm so in love with you!' Ryuuji remained in the bowing pose out of shock. _Is she crazy or something?_ He decides that the best way to deal with this would be to avoid further confrontation until he can get an advice from his friends. He's sure Ami has a way or two with stalkers. He gulped uncertainly when he imagined Taiga's reaction to this recent confession.

'Anyway, classmate Kirisawa, I recall that you were on your way home! I shall not delay you any further, I'd better go ahead and get my grocery done and ready for dinner or my girlfriend would be certainly displeased. See ya!' With that, Ryuuji ran like the wind.

By the time Ryuuji returned to his humble apartment, the sun has set and he was completely exhausted. But he did not resent the chore of making dinner; in fact, it may be the only thing that still makes sense to him today. 'Taiga, I'm home!' He listened tentatively for a response, ready for an attack from all directions, but nothing happened. 'I'm making dinner now, we shall have Tonkatsu just as you requested so let's make peace, okay?' A note on the table caught his attention, and a small panic welled up inside him. This was a very familiar scene.

_Dear Ryuuji, I've left so don't worry. You will be safe and happy from now on, safe from me. Love, Taiga._

Ryuuji fell onto the tatami mat in shock, _she left? _He recalled her words during their confrontation from earlier on. _'BAKA RYUUJI! I never want to see you again.'_ He felt his inside crushed by reality. _No way, she's joking right? All the women in the world are just playing some sort of joke on him, right?_

He regretted returning so late, taking his time to cool his head in the supermarket while Taiga was packing to leave him. _Damn it, why are you making it so difficult Taiga!_

_You will be safe and happy from now on, safe from me._

Ryuuji felt tears sting the inside of his eyes, what he is feeling now, is anything but safe. He felt like an angry kid whose toy was taken forcibly from him. Although he is aware that he needs to stay calm and understand the situation, the emotions are overcoming his rationality. _Why did she think that it would be better to stay away from him? Is it hate? Is it despair? Is she saying it out of spite? _As Ryuuji tried his best to understand the situation, he noticed for the first time that the apartment is neat and tidied, something rare ever since Taiga has moved in with him and Yasuko.

And then Ryuuji remembered, during the argument they had from weeks ago, that Taiga had felt inferior. She had not understood, and he had not ascertained her importance to him. He calls her his girlfriend, but there had been no flowers or dates, he was just putting a label on her without caring for her feelings. He was the one at fault, having been too anxious and insecure ever since her return, like a kid whose toy was once taken away from him and holding on to it tenaciously.

Understanding his mistake that had been done, he picked up his coat and keys and ran out of the apartment. It's now time to fix things that are broken.


	6. Dragon has a plan

**Chapter 6: Dragon has a plan**

Ryuuji flipped open his phone to check, and smiled confidently after being reassured once more. Today would be the day shed off he skin of the childish boy he was yesterday, today he had a plan. And he made a great deal of planning to get to where he is now, so he chose to believe that plan will turn everything around and he'd be this happy, confidant man he aspires to be.

As he walked around the campus, feelings his spirits soar brightly, his long-time friend and classmate Ami turned the corner and appeared before him. 'Yo, Ami!'

Ami turned to her friend and grimaced at the sight, 'Okay, what are you doing, creepy stalker face?' Ryuuji felt hurt, but his spirit rebounded immediately and he explained, 'It's all thanks to you, model super girl! I understand now to never underestimate the power of girl friendships! Today is the day, and it's all thanks to you!' Ami remained unimpressed.

'Let me guess, Ryuuji, could it be that you are feeling extremely nervous about the meeting later?'

Ryuuji's face fell once his game was caught, and he thought he was dealing with it impressively. 'Yeah, do you think it'd turn out well?' Ami gave a haughty smile that implied her prowess at reading this idiotic couple. 'Rest assured, I have talked to her at least a thousand times, and given her every pathetic scenario of yours whenever you missed her like crazy during her absence.' Ryuuji's turned into a red tomato at those words and his jaws dropped. Ami smiled apologetically, 'Okay, that would be embarrassing but you have to admit that it is the most effective way to win a woman's heart.'

She had a point, thought Ryuuji. Besides, the true focus for him at the moment would be to turn the make-up date into this perfect, unforgetable experience. 'So, mister Prince charming, how prepared are you?' Ami's words disrupted his daydream, and he looked up blankly. 'Eh, oh! We would have dinner at her favorite restaurant serving her favorite Tonkatsu Rice, I'm making this dessert cake to end the evening. It's all her favorites, key lime pie and Tonkatsu, lots of meat!'

Ami snorted. 'Right, brilliantly romantic! I'm sure Miss Juliet will be head over heels and letting down her hair so you can climb up her tower bringing her favorites. But is this how you plan to do _that_?' Ryuuji's guts fell to the ground. Without realizing it himself, he's back to being the same boring person he feared becoming. Ryuuji braved his heart and asked quietly, 'What should it be?' Ami rolled her eyes at her friend, 'Romance, you block head! Romance her! Gosh why all men are ineffectual at the things women would need the most!'

At that explosive outburst, she walked away briskly in her usual model swagger and Ryuuji felt the need to head-butt the wall. Another three hours left, if he skipped the afternoon's lesson, he may be able to change the hand of fate and make things favorable for himself once more. At that decision, he ran straight to the place he could first think of.

_Rolling back to three days ago…_

Ryuuji sat at the same spot, unable to move, inapt to think. He was lost; he had lost once more the most important girl of his life. He needed to become a man she could trust, he wanted more than anything to grow up!

_If only I'm a dependable man, the one that brings home the bacon and not the one that only cooks it, and maybe she'd stop feeling shaken by insecurities. _

He jumped suddenly when his phone beeped its familiar ringtone. 'Ami – wait, before you say anything I need your help! Minori is out of town this weekend for her training and I really – what. YOU FOUND WHAT!' His heart stopped, little stray Taiga has been found by the model goddess herself. 'Thank you Ami I'm coming over right now!'

'No, wait, idiot don't come! If you do, she's only going to run away again! Give her some time to calm down so ease it, tiger!'

'But I need to see her! I need to tell her my feelings. I need to assure her that I need her. I need – '

'Shut it Ryuuji. I would slap you now but given that it is an impossible feat over the phone, I'm just going to hang up on you until you see some sense on what kind of feat you're pulling off here. Now, be ready for the slap!' At that, the line went dead.

Ryuuji's mind felt momentarily exhausted. Why are all the women in the world being extremely difficult today?! He walked around the room, from corner to corner, trying to gain some sense from this situation. Eventually feeling defeated, he starts on his usual chore around the house.

_What kind of feat can I ever pull? Seriously, that Ami is misunderstanding me to be some sort of Casanova. Could it be that Taiga saw that ridiculous confession?! Come on, I'm not the Casanova type! I'm just the – wait – I'm the needy type. I'm the type of guy that prides on cleaning, and then tries to take care of everything. Gosh! I sound like a pathetic type!_

At that revelation, Ryuuji knocked over the litter bin. He immediately made to retrieve the scattered mess, when he noticed about ten broken toothbrushes amongst the trash. They were all broken nastily, like a really feisty monster had tried to murder using these as weapons. Then the truth hit him, squarely in the face, like one of Taiga's super punches. Taiga must have tried to use the toothbrushes for cleaning, she had been helping the last couple of times, and even though Ryuuji felt that it was impossible for her she had achieved it. Looking at the toothbrushes now, he realized how hard she was working while out of his sight. Ami had been woefully right once more, Ryuuji has been trying to pull of this feat of being the invincible boyfriend – caring for Taiga and balancing it all with his schoolwork, but all these had been building up stress for Taiga.

He regretted his actions and realized maybe he was too anxious or insecure about things, but all he had ever done since Taiga's return was to add pressure onto her by trying to take on everything himself. While he rushed on blindly, he had overlooked all her efforts. He had overlooked her passion, her merits, and her existence. It was his shortcoming, not because he did not do enough, but that he failed to march at the same pace as Taiga.

As he sat in his empty apartment drinking tea and skipping dinner, which is an extremely rare phenomenon for him, he pondered on ways to turn things around.

When he proposed, he needed to 'own' Taiga and not let anyone take her away. When he cooked and cleaned relentlessly, he wanted to feel needed by Taiga. When he felt something he couldn't understand, he lashed out at Taiga, like the other time when he got mad at her for ignoring her own dad.

The real meaning, of being a couple together, may be more than just a nice and comforting meal in a clean apartment. He understood that now.


	7. Share a little review with me please?

Hey folks!

After a few chapters into the story, it'd be wonderful if you can share with me your thoughts and I'm hoping to find inspirations from them! You see, I think the world of fiction could turn out beautiful if the communication works both ways. So I'd be looking forward to hearing your feedbacks!

*wink*

Woohoo cheers!

Hanabiaki


	8. Come What May

**Chapter 7: Come What May**

In the reflection of the water the sun is gliding slowly down the sky, cutting down the smoothness like a sharpened knife. As it slings down slowly, it pulled the bright orange hues along with it and the quiet black moved in to replace the vacancy. Despite the colorful exchanges in the sky overhead, the river remained peaceful and quiet, flowing gently underneath the red bridge.

Another hour passed and the darkness of the sky brightened up with little specks of stardust clustering in various shapes. The stars blinked quietly and sound of footsteps and vehicles can be heard from a distance but the atmosphere above the bridge reflected the peace in the river.

Taiga stepped onto the bridge and pulled her coat tighter around herself as she looked around for traces of her loyal companion but nothing greeted her. Ami had told her to forgo dinner and she obeyed despite Ami's somewhat irritated expression when made that suggestion. The truth is, Taiga missed Ryuuji's cooking greatly during their separation over the past week. Their separation during the past week felt even more unbearable than their one year apart, and Taiga restrained herself painfully from running back into Ryuuji's welcoming arms. She was unsure of herself, her insecurities felt petty and selfish yet she couldn't erase them away.

This is why she remained apprehensive towards their meeting tonight. Would tonight's meeting with Ryuuji make her even tinier than before or would it make her stronger? She needed to find out and unable to do that alone, she would pluck forth her courage and meet the man who inspired and frightened her.

Standing back on this bridge brought back many memories, and she wondered if Ryuuji had planned to meet here for the very same reason. In the cold, she missed his red scarf that always carried his scent. And then she spotted it, a few steps away tied to the wooden railings of the bridge, a familiar shade of red. Without thinking, she rushed forward to grab hold of it and nosedived uncontrollably into the familiar comfort. 'Ryuuji? Ryuuji!'

'TAIGAAAA!'

A long bellow sounded from beneath the bridge. Taiga craned over the wooden railing and found her dragon standing in the river, water high up to his knee. 'BAKA Ryuuji! What are you doing?!' Ryuuji's only response was immediate, the entire length of the bridge lit up with fairy lights quite suddenly. With just one action he made her forget the fears and apprehensions that weighed her down, how he does it she can never put it in words. Her tears fell uncontrollably, she could never deny it, the way he pulled her in and now she could never let go of their bond, the way she never once forgotten about the existence of the red scarf.

'TAIGAAAA! I have a question for you!'

Taiga stepped onto the wooden railing to hitch a better view of Ryuuji, her watery eyes shining brightly in the dark. 'What question!' Ryuuji inhaled sharply, and roared even louder than before, 'Do you ever regret meeting me!'

Almost falling off the railing, Taiga tightened her grip and looked around her. Years ago, all she knew was loneliness and the only thing she knew to battle it was to throw a tantrum. Before, she was numbed and cold but now, she had the warmth of the red scarf. Ryuuji's existence felt vividly real to her, he comforted her and fed her, protected her and loved her. He even fought for her.

'No,' her voice trembled slightly in the cold wind, 'I don't regret! I'd never regret! Meeting Ryuuji is the best thing that happened to me!'

Ryuuji smiled despite the icy water circling his feet, he took another deep breath and made another confession, 'Same for me! _Loving _Aisaka Taiga is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm never going to regret it!'

Taiga's heart felt a million things at once, joy she never thought of obtaining interlaced with sadness that she was too afraid to embrace. But she wanted to embrace Ryuuji more than anything at the moment.

'Idiotic dooooooog!'

SPLASH! Taiga's jump brought Ryuuji to his knees, but he caught her all the same. 'Are you an idiot? Have I not told you before that it is extremely dangerous to go jumping off a bridge like that?' Taiga tightened her grip around Ryuuji as she remained unconcerned of such silly details. The hug was everything she hoped for and finally they have connected once more.

'Ryuuji?'

'Hm?'

'Am I not a nuisance? Won't I be a bother to you and your studies?'

'Maybe.'

Taiga made to leap away from Ryuuji's embrace, only to be held even closer. 'You with that colorful personality, how can you not be a handful? But I told you haven't I?' Taiga looked up to Ryuuji inquisitively, 'Actually you have not, and all you did was fire silly questions at me.'

Ryuuji's temperature went up a notch at the realization, 'The- the- then, I'd tell you now!' Taiga felt his arms tightened around her before he continued, 'Taiga, all I knew of life before meeting you were silly chores and responsibilities. I followed through them because it felt right. With you, I broke all the rules and felt constantly challenged, but all of this revealed a meaningful outcome. It doesn't matter if my life would be peaceful or chaotic. All that I want is to have you by my side, to give meaning to my life. May I hereby, ask for your permission, to grant me your presence in my future as my wife?'

Taiga's eye widened at Ryuuji's proposal, her heart that had been fluttering went into overtime and she almost passed out. 'Ryuuji, are you proposing to me?'

'Yeah.'

They remained locked in embrace and embarrassment, nobody quite sure what to do next. 'Taiga, I think you need to respond, either with yes or no.' 'YES! Why – why would I need to – to – question your -'

Taiga never got the chance to finish her sentence as Ryuuji captured her lips with his own and sealed it with a kiss.

Half a minute later they broke apart and snow fell silently onto their drenched form, at the same instant Taiga's stomach growled its hungry protest.


	9. My green-eyed dragon

**Chapter 8: My green-eyed dragon**

Peace is finally restored in Takasu Ryuuji's residence. The past few weeks went by in a flurry due to Ryuuji's exams and Taiga's new found job. That took place after their reconciliation which happened after Ryuuji re-proposed to Taiga after a series of misunderstandings in which both of them endured a considerably painful ordeal and came to a realization of how dreams are ideals need to be built on stronger grounds in order to take on the future. This all started after Taiga returned from her personal journey to patch things up with her mother and family, but for now, they have peace.

Back to present times, Ryuuji is looking at his practice papers trying to concentrate while the only person on his mind is physically at work. Taiga's new job seemed like a good fit, for someone who possessed an innate ability to glide through the air in backflips and somersaults she would certainly make an excellent sports instructor. Of course, she did not include swimming in her list of sports to teach, which felt like a fair choice to Ryuuji. He was not fond of her swimming out of his sight for that would certainly spell danger, of all kinds. Who knows what hormone-raging teenage boys are capable of in the face of cute Taiga, but at that thought, Ryuuji immediately had a visual impression of Taiga kicking their guts.

It was now a quarter to three, and she should be home some time past three and they would head out to the supermarket for ingredients they require to make dinner. He resumed concentrating on his practice paper, focusing on the string of numerical and algebraic formulas that seem to make little sense. His next glance at the clock gave him an almost heart-attack. It was a quarter to four now, and that math formula had somehow accelerated the speed of time. He glanced at his mobile but there were no incoming messages or missed calls. He was about to dial Taiga when the door opened and the woman on his thoughts appeared before him.

'Taiga! I was worried, where have you –'

Ryuuji's questions were cut off by a bigger mystery before him. Standing there was Taiga, holding a red-stained handkerchief to her nose and to her left was a man in his mid-twenties whom Ryuuji has never met before.

'Ah, nice to meet you! I'm Aisaka's colleague at work, my name is Tama Ryu. Actually, what happened was that Aisaka-san had a mishap while packing up after a class ended and the equipment came crashing down on her. **_I_** was able to retrieve Aisaka-san from the debris immediately, thank goodness! **_I_** have also taken liberty to check her state of wellbeing..'

Ryuuji's eyebrows twitched violently.

'..it seemed like apart from a nosebleed, Aisaka-san had sustained no other injuries. **_I_** had conducted some tests on her responsiveness and it seemed like she still possessed clarity which is a good thing! It was an extremely fortunate coincidence that **_I_** was in the vicinity when it happened, since **_I_** am the school nurse **_I_** am most suitable to provide medical help.'

Ryuuji's lips twitched uncomfortably.

'Now that I've explained everything clearly, **_I_** do seek your forgiveness on behalf of the school, for not looking out for your daughter well enough! Please accept my apologies!'

'Father… Daughter…?'

'Mmmther… Maaufer…?!'

Taiga's response was comical at the very least, and eased the tension in the situation. However, Ryuuji was fuming, and fought hard to reign in his rare fiery temper. He recalled, through the man's extensive and excessive explanation that his name is Tama Ryu? What is that name supposed to mean, some species of round dragon?!

'Excuse me, **_Tama-san_**, but we do not have a father and daughter relationship. I think that is rather clear given that we bear no similarities in appearance whatsoever.'

Tama Ryu gave a charming smile, despite possessing a name that hints roundness, he was anything but round. Tall, lean and tanned. He also had an amicable looking face, which glowed and sparkled when he smiled. And all of these were getting to Ryuuji in a way that he could not explain.

Ryu elaborated on after flashing that ridiculously bright smile, 'Yes, I thought it was impossible too. But I could not understand other reasons that would explain you two co-habiting in this place. Are you two step-siblings?'

'No, no! Please stop talking.'

Ryuuji felt surprised at the blunt response he gave, and looked up tentatively. Somehow, talking to this man was draining his energy away at a rapid speed. He looked at Taiga whose nose was dripping as her state of shock seemed to have accelerated her nose-bleeding. He picked up a box of tissue and hastily passed it to Taiga, who took it with a rather blank look on her face. Without any other actions to deliberate on, Ryuuji plucked up all the bravery he could gather and returned a firm and steady look at Ryu. The intensity of the stare, combined with Ryuuji's unique looks, caused a slight panic stirring Ryu's insides.

'Taiga and I are engaged. We are planning to marry in the near future.'

The reactions Ryuuji received were entertaining in the very least. Taiga's nosebleed escalated into a blood bath and Ryu dropped his leather bag to the floor with a stunned look that made Ryuuji proud. Finally, he managed to knock that pompous guy off his high horse.

'Oh, that was a probability **_I_** had not expected. **_I_** mean, Aisaka-san is a beautiful attractive young lady, and marriage seemed proper in place for her, but –' Ryu glanced at Ryuuji tentatively and Ryuuji had to shove his hands into the pockets before he punched the daylight out of this guy. Because if he guessed correctly, he knew exactly what this round dragon had intended to say.

'We were engaged at the age of 18, we knew how we cannot live without the other from that age. Everything fell neatly in place after that, and we renewed our engagement a few weeks ago. Nothing seemed wrong in our relationship at all.'

Taiga looked up to Ryuuji with large, sparkly eyes and Ryuuji could feel his pride swell immensely. He returned her passionate gaze with his usual goofy grin that sealed their mutual understanding. Their bond shined ever more brightly this instant.

Tama Ryu coughed uncomfortably. 'Well, look at the time now. Aisaka-san please lie down and rest well. **_I_** had better get going now. Sorry to intrude!' Before Taiga and Ryuuji could bid a proper goodbye, the man was out of the door.

After the fiasco, Ryuuji made Taiga warm tea with honey as she took the advice to rest properly before any more drastic movements. They avoided conversing on what had happened just moments earlier, until Taiga broke the sanctity. 'Sorry for not calling in advance Ryuuji, the nose would not stop bleeding and I just couldn't get on the phone.' Ryuuji smiled as he placed a warm towel on Taiga's snow white forehead gently. 'I get it. You would have avoided contact with **_that_** guy the best you can, I would too, honestly.'

Taiga laughed hysterically. 'What I cannot understand, is his manner of speech. Isn't there something strange about the way he spoke?' Ryuuji joined Taiga and laughed uncontrollably, they were bothered by the same thing, such a chemistry they shared. 'Every single time he said the word '**_I_**', _I_ wanted to slap him. And you're the violent one in this relationship, so that explains a great deal does it not?'

They continued to laugh and mock at the strange man's entrance into their day, completely oblivious to the danger that lies ahead.


	10. Crisis! My green-eyed dragon strikes!

**Chapter 9: Crisis! My green-eyed dragon strikes!**

Taiga returned to school the next day with a band aid across her nose bridge, a cut was on her nose which had added on to her nose-bleeding, a discovery Ryuuji made when he attended to her injuries. Taiga blushed as she recalled what had happened yesterday and laid her hand lightly on her band aid. Ryuuji had insisted on checking her for injuries, as he believed that the pompous Tama Ryu had bound to miss something. This statement was not made without some resistance on Taiga's end. She protested and insisted she did not have any other injuries, when Ryuuji immediately spotted the cut on her nose which went unnoticed before and made a strong argument that she should give up and let him do the work.

Taiga conceded while blushing hard like a red tomato. She stood still as Ryuuji examined her delicately, she could feel his gaze heatedly on her skin and his fingers glazed over so gently goose bumps formed at the back of her neck. Taiga peeked at Ryuuji tentatively, it seemed that he too felt embarrassed and was blushing furiously. After a good ten minutes of questions and examination, he reluctantly peeled away from Taiga and gave her permission to rest. He then moved away quickly to retrieve his first aid kit, despite all the distractions present he did manage to come across a few grazes on Taiga's fair skin. It was so fair.

He recalled Tama Ryu's statement of having examined Taiga for injuries after the accident and felt his blood boil when he imagined Tama Ryu doing what he did to Taiga. The cotton in his hand was rolled into an unspeakable form unconsciously, and he threw them away to retrieve new ones. After some careful work, he disinfected Taiga's wounds and gave each cut a band aid treatment.

'Aisaka-san!' Taiga could feel a chill run down her spine. This voice was dreadfully familiar. She turned and was, yes, right in the face of that somebody she dreaded seeing. 'Oh, it's you.'

Tama Ryu flashed his becoming smile, and waited for Taiga's reaction. He was evidently expecting more, a reaction along the lines of 'Thank you very much for saving me! *^o^*'

However, Taiga made no further comment beyond her lethargic reply and moved on to class. They had a few more run-into further on in the day, and Taiga had started to think that maybe he was stalking her. So during their encounter at the school gate, which seemed staged in every way, she decided to confront him face-to-face.

'So, what's your problem? Are you stalking me, or something?'

Like a hardened mask, Tama Ryu's face remained unfazed as he responded with his lips barely moving. Taiga is reminded of another quality usually possessed by a stalker. 'Aisaka-san, of course **_I_** am not be stalking you. **_I_** am simply showing concern for a colleague of mine, and as the school nurse, it is my duty to make sure that you have since recovered from the incident.'

Taiga resisted the urge to break his smile, considering how she does indeed like her job quite a fair bit. Instead, she gritted her teeth and responded almost mechanically, 'Yes, I have. Please worry no more. Goodbye!'

A hand grabbed her wrist firmly and pulled her back from leaving, glaring up at Tama Ryu, she felt her patience thinning. 'Please let me go.'

'Oh, look! There's a band aid here. Oh dear, was this from yesterday's injuries? **_I_** sincerely apologize for having not noticed this sooner, if **_I_** did **_I_** will definitely make it up to you by –'

Poor Tama Ryu never had the chance to finish his sentence, as a punch came from nowhere right at the moment when he pinned his finger on the band aid resting on Taiga's wrist. Taiga turned, stunned, to face a red faced Ryuuji. His fist was also glowing, and Taiga felt her heart ache, he was never one of those to fight so obviously his body isn't built for fights. She reached out to hold his hand, hoping to ease the pain she can only imagine but not feel, but Ryuuji was on to make a second punch.

'Ryu- Ryuuji! Stop! Please, you're hurting yourself!' tears were brimming at her eyes as she tried to prevent a follow up to Ryuuji's impactful punch. Ryuuji came to his senses and looked at Taiga, the anger quickly fading from his eyes and his hands pulled Taiga into a deep hug.

'WHA- WHAT IS THIS?! YOU TWO IDIOTS, HE PUNCHED ME! IN THE FACE! AND NOW YOU TWO ARE HUGGING?! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT A DANGEROUS MAN YOU ARE DATING, AISAKA?!'

Taiga pulled away from the hug and Ryuuji could see her signature glint in the depth of her eyes, instinctively, he backed away to watch her response. Taiga towered over Tama Ryu's crouching form with her arms crossed, her patience was now down to zero no thanks to Tama Ryu's outburst.

'You. Are. The. Idiot!' Taiga went on to give a cold, chilling laughter. Even Ryuuji felt frightened for Tama Ryu.

'Me? Aisaka Taiga, needing protection, from you, the useless flower vase of a _NURSE_ who couldn't even give proper first aid to stop my nose bleed. You have got to be kidding me. ME?! Aisaka Taiga, who single-handedly taken down a stalker twice my height with just one kick, needs protection? What are you, an idiot?'

She clicked her tongue, pretended to pause in wonderment, and answered her own question, 'Oh, yeah. That's right. You are not an idiot. Just a MAN who is useless as a NURSE and speaks of the word 'I' in the dumbest manner I have ever encountered. Please bite your own tongue so you can never speak a word of idiocy again!'

Happy with her response, she skipped happily to Ryuuji's side like a child and held his hand. Ryuuji smiled, it had been a long time since he had seen her spirited response like this. From his observation, he had realized how much effort Taiga is making to not bully him. A few rare moments he would find Taiga with a contorted expression and he would worry initially, but soon realized that she was simply fighting a moment with herself, to not bully him. To him, it was so much sweeter to getting a bento set from Taiga, especially since the later would most likely kill him.

He took another glance at Tama Ryu, who seemed completely baffled by Taiga's retort and unable to recover, looked like a white ashen figure waiting to disintegrate. Ryuuji gave an almost apologetic look at Tama before leaving the school grounds.

The next day, Tama Ryu avoided Taiga at all cost, even if it meant hiding in the girl's bathroom during one such instance which had him labeled as a pervert. The very next day, he was fired from the school and they hired a much more appropriate nurse who had actual medical skills.

That very day of the punching incident, Taiga rejoiced over her 'liberated soul' which had, in her own words, made her a grumpy old lady. Ryuuji found it impossible to stop laughing at her words, but agreed that he enjoyed it too.

'Taiga, actually, I'd noticed you holding back.' Taiga blushed like a pink flower. 'No, I mean, erm, I mean you know, holding back on the bullying tendencies,' a very flustered Ryuuji went on to explain. He stole a shy glance at Taiga, and moved closer to hold her in an embrace. 'But sometimes, it's part of our natural dynamics to have a bit of bickering, you know?' Like an immediate response to his request, Ryuuji receives a punch on his face.

'That's what you meant?! Ah, you idiot Ryuuji! But I'd forgive you, since you were jealous that your owner was harassed by a handsome looking man and couldn't resist punching him.' She looked over him haughtily with her hands perched on her hips. Ryuuji smiled contentedly, it may sound strange, but this feels natural to him too.

'What do you mean 'jealous'? I was simply protecting you, surprised that you needed me to do the job for you!'

'Hmph, I just like my actual job too much to throw a punch. Besides, he only touched my wrist. While you touched…'

'Ahhhhh! Stop it, don't say anymore! Noooo..'

And they continued acting like children for the rest of the night.


	11. Rain and our circumstances

**Chapter 11: Rain and our circumstances**

'Uwa! This rain is crazy!' Taiga stepped into the Takasu residence and threw her umbrella aside and started dusting off water droplets on her trench coat. Smoothly, she removed her boots and chucked them right next to the umbrella where a pool of water is forming quickly. 'Cold, cold, it's so cold!' She gave up dusting her half drenched trench coat and took it off. She made her way through the living room and headed for the bedroom, thinking that it would be best to change out of her cold attire as quickly as she could. In one swift action, she threw her trench coat to the floor and lifted her blouse over her head when suddenly –

'Wha- wha- hold on! What do you think you're doing, Taiga!' Hiding in the futon for some warmth was Ryuuji with Taiga's coat in one hand, blushing like a hot torch in spite of the rainy season. A thunder roared dramatically outside the window and the situation grew in tension. Taiga remained motionless with her head caught awkwardly in her blouse, while Ryuuji's concentration grew fuzzy. His eyes were focusing on the fair skin revealed, and despite his efforts to pry his eyes away they rebelled on their own will. 'Pl – please, Taiga, remain calm and put down your blou – hands.'

'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

Everything after that happened so quickly that Ryuuji only made sense of it in an aftermath recollection: Taiga gave a shrill cry and immediately launched a round-house kick at me. Ah, but I get it, she had not intended to hurt me. I could not avoid it, so I got kicked in the face and flew out of bed. Then, she did a face palm, of all reactions yes this is the one she chose, and ran out of the room. The next thing I hear was the front door closing, footsteps pattering away. End of analysis.

Ryuuji pulled himself from the floor, his head throbbing with pain, but he had greater concerns on hand. He looked outside the window, and realized that Taiga would be running in the rain, probably with no shoes or umbrellas. _That idiot!_ He launched at the door with rocket speed and ran out barefoot chasing her. Somehow, they had ended in such situations more than once. His physical gait had improved a great deal ever since Taiga's return, no thanks to these situations. They had moved on to greater things, solved greater issues, but this specific awkwardness seemed to forever dwell in their dark corner.

'Taiga!' He was catching up quickly, and reached out to pull her back from her escapade, which could mean serious consequences in this weather. 'Calm down, Taiga! Let's – oof – let's talk it out, okay? You're running in the rain, you could fall sick. Let's not – oomph – throw any more punches and calm down!'

'You saw it, didn't you?' Taiga's voice cracked in the rain as she hid her face behind of her long, brown wavy hair. Ryuuji swallowed hard, and desperately searched for an answer that would sound appropriate but no words came out of his mouth. 'My tiny – insignificant – you, you are definitely going to laugh at me for being a flat board are you not!' Ryuuji was torn between reactions, unsure which to first reveal – he felt that Taiga's concern was ridiculously off the charts, and how can she say that – that immodest girl! She should be worried about graver issues, like how her boyfriend just – argh!

Ryuuji avoided exploring the situation and grabbed Taiga's wrist firmly and dragged themselves across the rain-strewn roads that led to home. 'Taiga, when we're back home, take a warm bath and change out of your clothes, okay? I'd make you something warm to drink. You have long hair so make sure you dry them properly with the hairdryer. You have to work, so you're not to catch a cold, right?'

'Ryuuji,' Taiga spoke in a low voice half a minute later, Ryuuji could hear it clearly. 'I'm cold! I understand how I was acting stupidly again. And thank you for saving me.'

Ryuuji smiled in the rain, relieved that somehow, he had managed to calm her down. He too, felt cold in the rain and the low temperatures made it even more chilling. But Taiga's hands felt warm in his palm.

Sometimes he craved moments like this, feeling Taiga's warmth, he liked all these moments when he felt his senses immersed in her presence. It was comforting, and always made him crave for more. Although he held the secret within himself, at times he wondered if he could just reveal this to Taiga.

Part of the reason for his hesitance is caused by her typical response to their intimacy. They had discussed their future more than once, and decided that they should remain as traditional as they can until Ryuuji graduates and they would get married. Yasuko had insisted they share a room at the very least, and Ryuuji felt torn at times – it was like the ultimate test to his patience. But he managed the best he can by far. They had separate futons, and though sometimes they share a moment as intense as the kiss at Ryuuji's grandparent's lodge, they honored their plans.

When Taiga re-entered the room again, Ryuuji had set his resolve and was ready to try it out. 'Tai- Taiga. It - it's cold so. Can – can – can we kiss?' He observed every ounce of her reaction, his heart trembling in its anticipation, he was afraid but more than anything else, he was curious.

'No.'

Taiga turned away the minute Ryuuji proposed the kiss and Ryuuji clenched his fist tighter, hoping to control the outburst of emotions skimming beneath the surface. Her response fell within his expectation, but he never expected the hurt to be such an overwhelming feeling. He wanted to pull her into his arms, and look into her eyes to seek out what she felt however all he could manage right now was to feign indifference to all the negative thoughts forming in his mind. 'You – you really hate it don't you. Sharing a moment with me, kissing me – you really hate these moments don't you?'

'Huh! No, that's not what I meant, wait, Ryuuji! You're being unreasonable, at least hear me out!'

Ryuuji let go of the laundry basket in his hands and let its content spill over the floor, he had been trying to ward off the negative assumptions and to rely on their mutual trust. Yet Taiga's words had made him even more insecure. 'You feel that it is an unreasonable request?'

Taiga's eyes trembled and tears formed at the rim, 'I'm sorry, I did not mean it that way, what I meant was – what?! Wait, Ryuuji! What are you doing?'

Ryuuji had given up on listening to her explanation with his thoughts in complete disarray so he walked away and wanted to clear his mind. Part of him knew that he needed to be more patient, yet another dark side to him was pulling him into all sorts of assumptions. Like, maybe Taiga did not see him that way, or that Taiga finally realized that there would be better guys out there. After all, part of the reason for their arrangement was because of his education, and he was the burden in this relationship.

So he moved into his room without thinking and began packing his belongings. Right now, for the first time in his life, he felt afraid of himself. And he was also frightened of what he might say accidentally to ruin everything that they had carefully built up till now. He needed to get away.

'Stop! Ryuuji, stop packing and talk to me please! You can't do this, please don't do this, are you leaving me behind?'

Ryuuji zipped up his bag and turned to Taiga, his eyes felt heavy and his heart weighed tons in his chest as he answered as honestly as he could, 'I cannot be here. I need to go, now.'

'No! No! You cannot do this to me! You cannot walk out on me!'

'But you did walk out on me more than once before, why am I not given the right to do the same? Aren't you being unfair?'

Taiga stood motionless and tried to form a response only to fail miserably. She watched with empty eyes as he closed the door behind him, and left her alone in the quiet room.

**Author's Note**: The usual comedic duo is going through some changes and yes, this week's story feels a little heavy. But once in awhile, things go badly before you can admire the true beauty behind it right? Hang in there with me, we'd watch Taiga and Ryuuji grow up together :) If you feel there's is something to say, you can simply drop me a review, I'd welcome it all with open arms :)


	12. A thougtful decision

**Chapter 12: A thoughtful decision**

'Hey Haruta, would you stop eating already!'

Haruta took a pause from gorging the bag of chips and stared blankly at his companions. 'But the chips are delicious and Ryuuji still refuses to tell us what happened between him and Taiga.' Ryuuji continued to sulk in the corner as the argument with Taiga replayed and replayed in his mind. He was beginning to regret his actions, and was worrying a thousand things that Taiga might be facing right now, but he felt unconfident to return either way. He had sent a text message to Yasuko explaining the situation briefly, and she had been surprisingly understanding despite not knowing the roots to their argument. And now, he ran off to the only place he knew of and was sulking in the corner – his friend Haruta's home.

'Ryuuji, Haruta did state a good point. We are all here to listen to you now, why not just let us know about the argument and maybe we can help?' Noto pushed up his glasses and peered at the dark corner which Ryuuji inhabited and waited patiently for his friend's response. Haruta chucked the chip bag into the trash bin once he was done and remarked carelessly, 'Could it be that it is a perverted matter and that's why you cannot share it with us?'

Ryuuji's ears pinked up immediately upon hearing Haruta's remark, and wished for a quick diversion to pop up and divert them away from a potential outburst when -

'WHAT? I mean, Haruta, I'm sure you meant a 'private' matter and not 'perverted'. Right, Ryuuji? It is a private matter?' Noto treaded carefully and sneaked glances at his awkward-looking friend. However, Ryuuji conceded and heaved out a loud sigh. 'Eh?! You mean he's right? I mean, you're not going to deny it in the very least?' Ryuuji turned to face his friend but avoided their eyes as he went on to explain the cause of his huge argument with Taiga.

Haruta was the first to break up the awkward atmosphere once Ryuuji was done retelling his side of the tale, 'Oh wow. I knew it was a private matter, but I didn't realize that it was that kind of 'private'!' Ryuuji and Noto stared at their friend in amusement and disbelief. 'But you were the one to suggest that they were having a perverted problem, you idiot!' Noto threw a dirty glance at Haruta. 'Hm? No idea what you're talking about. Didn't I suggest that they were having a private problem since the beginning?' His friends glared back in shock, both thinking the same thought: This guy is an idiot. 'Anyway, ignore Haruta. He subconscious probably took over and spoke of things that even the conscious Haruta would not have understood.' Ryuuji broke into peals of laughter, and he realized that it felt surprisingly easy to confide in them both. Especially since Haruta always has his own ways to disrupt awkward moments like this.

'Well, Ryuuji, all I have to say is that we are all in our twenties now and such concerns are natural for us. You seem to be avoiding it a great deal with Taiga, which I'm not sure if that's the best way to go about things.' Haruta took on a mature persona and sounded his advice to his two high school buddies. 'Haruta, sometimes you genuinely surprise me so much that I feel like you're two personalities combined in one. But he is right Ryuuji, and it is also very important that the two of you had made the decision with good reasons. I mean, you two must have had a very long discussion about it and sounded all the pros and cons before committing to this long running situation, right?'

'Uh, it wasn't a particularly long discussion to be honest. It sort of all happened within five minutes.'

'EH?' both Haruta and Noto replied in disbelief.

'Hey Ryuuji, we're out of soy bean milk again!' Taiga slammed the fridge door shut and looked over at Ryuuji's crouching form over the common table.

'Hm? Okay, let's go out and get some once I'm done with this super tricky, one-of-a-kind, sadistically difficult math question.'

Taiga gave a small chuckle and remarked, 'You are really an idiot after all aren't you Ryuuji. Math is all about one, two and three. Yet you can't solve a simple question? Ho ho ho!'

Ryuuji looked up in annoyance for he was just about to find out the value of X in the equation when Taiga's criticism distracted him. 'You little punk! You think drinking all that milk is going to make you grow taller, or grow bigger?' Immediately Ryuuji regretted his poor choice of words. Taiga's eyes flashed a dangerous glint and her face and ears were bright red. 'Ah. Taiga, that's not what I meant! Stay calm and listen to me. I meant height and - gah!' A punch came expectedly at Ryuuji as Taiga wailed in tears. 'Stop talking about the size of my things like you have the right to, you perverted dog!'

Ryuuji gave a cheeky grin at Taiga's outburst, 'Call me whatever you want, but I'm your boyfriend so you cannot avoid these arguments with me. Anyway, why should we be arguing? Taiga have you never thought of -'

'Stoooooooop!' Taiga raised the white flag and dropped to stare at the grounds. 'We- we- we should control this situation. I mean, don't – don't – don't you have a math question to solve?!'

'The situation, what do you – ah!' It was now Ryuuji's turn to blush a bright shade of pink as he caught on what Taiga had been going about. 'I didn't mean that situation! I meant a kiss would be – ahhhhh! What are you thinking idiot!'

Taiga glared at Ryuuji in disbelief, 'Me? No – I mean! The math question, Ryuuji! Stop talking nonsense about this situation or that situation and quickly get back to your question. Studies would be top priority, right?' Ryuuji nodded in agreement, 'Yes! You're right, of course, studies are most important and we shouldn't go talking about weird situations now, right?'

'Right!'

'WRONG!'

Noto and Haruta stared at Ryuuji in disbelief. Ryuuji heaved a long sigh, sadly, he had just come to realize that the decision made by him and Taiga was brought on by a series of stupid circumstances.

'That was how you agreed? It was more like you two were too embarrassed to even go further thinking about things and now you are just abiding that decision like it is a holy sanctuary? Wow, I have to say Ryuuji, I'm surprised at your lack of maturity in this.' Ryuuji felt incredibly annoyed to be lectured by the Haruta who could not even differentiate between the words 'private' and 'pervert'. 'Ryuuji, he's got a point. You two basically reacted out of shyness and avoided talking about anything at all. Maybe you two should revisit the conversation once more.'

Ryuuji nodded at Noto's words, but he continued to avoid their eyes. 'I understand, well, I'm glad we had a chat about this even though I'm so embarrassed all I want to do is to dig a hole and hide in it.' Haruta and Noto laughed, and gave an assuring pat to Ryuuji's back.

'Don't worry, Ryuuji! We are here to help you. I'm sure we would be more useful than Kitamura when it is a situation concerning girls. That idiot is still chasing at Sumire in America and it seems like they had no more progress than you did. Ha!'

'Uh, Noto, it's rare to find you gossiping about people like that. Are you still jealous about Kihara's crush on Kitamura?'

Once again, Haruta stepped on a landmine.

'Oh! Let's focus the talk on Ryuuji, okay? So, let's come up with a plan now!'


	13. Home is where you are

**Chapter 13: Home is where you are**

Ryuuji pushed open the door gently and the house greeted him in darkness, he squinted his eyes to get better visualization but it was simply too dark. Running his hand along the walls and taking small light steps, he navigated his way through the living room in the quietest manner he can manage. His feet glided across the tatami flooring and he exercised navigation through his muscle memory, at the next turn, he'd reach the bean bag that Taiga had purchased with her first pay check. All he wanted to do now was to take a rest, walking the entire five kilometres back home without public transport had drained him completely and in another two hours dawn will break.

But someone was already on the bean bag, a very small figure with long flowing hair and revealed a flowery Sakura scent. Ryuuji reached out unconsciously and took a few strands into his hand and realized it was still damp and dripped tiny droplets of water. He sighed, knowing that she could easily catch a cold, so he navigated his way to the bathroom and retrieved a dry towel from his impeccable tower shelf. Gently, he dried the ends of her hair and tried his best not to wake her, although it was inevitable that she would wake eventually.

'Ryu – yawn – Ryuuji?' She reached out her hand and cradled Ryuuji's face, her touch lingering slightly as she slowly regains consciousness. He felt a terrible weight in his guts, only a few hours apart and he was rendered useless completely, lost without direction or directive to what he can or should do. And all it took was a single touch from her and those insecurities were blown away. Maybe, this is why he was finding it increasingly difficult to restrain himself from craving more of her.

'Taiga,' Ryuuji began gently, 'WHY DID YOU NOT DRY YOUR HAIR? Do you know that with the rain these days you're going to fall sick if you don't dry your hair properly?!' When he finally let out his first and foremost concern, he forgot his restraint and was ruffling Taiga's soft hair continuously with the towel. 'Ow, ow, ow! Ryuuji, what are you doing, you idiot!' She was fully awake now.

'Okay, okay! I'd dry it now, you closet control freak!' Taiga made to stand and perched her hand on hips, looking at Ryuuji in mock disdain. _It is going to be okay now_, she thought, _everything is back to normal once more_.

Suddenly Ryuuji's arms were around her in an instant and pulled her back from leaving for the bathroom. 'Taiga,' his breathing was ragged and her name rose to a whisper, 'I'm sorry. My complaints, my stupidity, I'm sorry for all of that. I'm so, so sorry for leaving you behind alone in this apartment, I'm sorry so can you please forgive me and let us discuss everything before either of us does something incredibly stupid once more?'

Ryuuji's sudden hug from behind wrapped around Taiga felt like a perfect fit, his arms were firm and gentle, her back was warmed by his body and his heart was thumping loudly in this close proximity, and she could feel it. She wanted to do nothing else but to savour this moment, she never felt anything like this with Ryuuji. She felt safe, but her heart just about to burst out of control, felt like a dangerous blade she was holding for the very first time. The warmth on her cheeks were not caused by the usual shyness, it felt like a new sensation beneath her skin, a new comfort of having the one person she cannot be without assuring her with his presence. Usually she was concerned with a million things, tiny details about how she looked or how she acted or her assets that made her inferior. Now, nothing felt more comfortable than Ryuuji's soft spoken confession, and she wondered what could have triggered the change. Perhaps it was his departure, because she spent hours thinking about what Ryuuji said before he stormed out the door, and she felt guilty for how she had hurt him before. She understood the weight of his words the moment he was gone, but now, he returned and standing here with him like this, made her feel safe and closer to Ryuuji than ever before.

'Ryuuji,' Taiga broke the silence after a few minutes have passed peacefully, 'I don't hate being close to you. Even before, I was probably over conscious of myself and everything would drive me into this impossible state when I panic and stuff like that. Not because I hate you or anything like… what... we are doing… now.'

Ryuuji grinned into Taiga's hair, 'You meant to say that you are shy. That's what you meant.'

'No I mean! Hmph, fine whatever, say what you want as long as it makes you happy.'

Ryuuji could not hide his toothy grin and buried his face into Taiga's soft brown hair and he found the Sakura scent irresistible so he unconsciously took a sniff. Taiga shuddered and started to move frantically in Ryuuji's arms, 'What – what are you doing! Sniffing people's hair like that, are you really a dog!'

'So be it, I'm really a dog.' Ryuuji took a step back and covered Taiga's mouth with his hand suddenly, 'Shh! Yasuko is sleeping right now, what are you going to do if we wake her up!' Taiga's eyes lit up in the dark, she had forgotten all about Yasuko. 'You're right, I vaguely sensed her return after you left, she walked over and covered me with a blanket without probing anything.'

'Well, let's just return to our rooms quietly and try not to wake her. We wouldn't want to explain our – situation.' Taiga nodded fervently as she made her way for their room, 'Explaining would be difficult, let's do that.' Ryuuji nodded and sneaked another close-up to Taiga and took another whiff of her hair, 'Looks like your hair dried up nicely now so there's no need to dry it with a hairdryer!' Taiga knocked on Ryuuji head and spoke in a hushed up voice, 'Stop sneaking up to me like this!'

As they closed the door, Yasuko gave a sigh of relief, glad that the two have finally worked out their differences. 'Ah, youth is such a beautiful thing.' Quietly, she closed her door and retreated for the night.

Ryuuji and Taiga reported gleefully to Haruta and Noto that they had reconciled last night and peace had been restored. They were sitting in the family restaurant they visited in their school days and joked about the past care freely. As Taiga made her exit for the washroom, Haruta and Noto immediately cornered Ryuuji and extorted details from him.

'So, how did it go? It worked didn't it? That hug-from-the-back detail from shoujo manga always bring girls to tears, it's such a brilliant move!' Haruta concluded proudly for his genius tactic. 'Ah! It did, she couldn't look at me so even though I looked like a mess and was scared to death and had a scary face I did hide it perfectly well! I'm not sure what it is about it, but it seems like all girls would fall for storylines from a shoujo manga! It's really brilliant!' Ryuuji grinned in satisfaction. Noto looked on in wonderment, amazed that Haruta's seemingly silly suggestion worked so well, 'I cannot believe that even a girl like Taiga will turn into pudding by a shoujo manga detail! Behold the power of shoujo manga! I'm so using this in future!'

Taiga looked on in horror. She had been forced to return to her seat to wait until the washroom is vacated – only to be greeted by this scene from hell. These three devilish guys were fooling with a maiden's heart! She felt her cheeks turn red and her temperature rose.

Noto gave Ryuuji an encouraging pat on his back and Taiga's eyebrows twitched uncontrollably, 'Well Ryuuji! So did you two get together nicely?' Ryuuji's cheeks turn scarlet, 'Well, after that we did kiss for –'. But he never got to finish his sentence, Taiga sent her handbag flying into his face. 'Shut up you stupid dog!'

The three of them turned in horror, and trembled in the presence of the towering Taiga like puppies presented to the big bad wolf. 'You. Have. Quite. Some. Nerve. RYUUJI!'

All hell broke loose immediately. Peace restored itself in the family restaurant only after Noto made an emergency call to his girlfriend, summoning Ami and co. to pull Taiga away as they make their exit.

Not that any of them can ever go back to the family restaurant again in near future.


	14. A reivew would make a huge difference!

What do you like most in the story so far? Is the development something you can relate to?

Share a little review and spark me off with inspirations to continue this story!

I'm planning to continue it with other circumstances that would lead to their future. Would they get married? Are new rivals set in near future? Throw in your guesses in the reviews too! ^-^

Sankyuu!


	15. Date night

**First **_of all, I'd like to thank my reviewers and readers, the valuable encouragement and insight definitely got me inspired. As a result, I've decided to pick up the date night idea I had wanted to write about months ago but delibrated for a good long time. Although it's closer to Christmas then the holiday depicted in this chapter, I hope to bring everyone a piece of happiness this festive season with my little chapter. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 14: Date Night**

Taiga adjusted her ponytail nervously again and reviewed her appearance in the mirror, clad in a navy blue silk dress and a shawl, she suddenly felt unsure if a ponytail is the right choice for her outfit. In one quick movement, she pulled off her hair tie and rolled up her chestnut brown hair into a bun and fastened it smoothly with her hair tie and a couple of pins. _Great, now I look overly formal!_ Exasperated, she pulled down the freshly tied bun and stared helplessly at her dishevelled hair in the mirror. When suddenly, another figure in the mirror caught her attention and she wheeled around to face her boyfriend in his best suit.

'Ryuuji! Don't just stand in a corner quietly like that, you scared me a little!'

But Ryuuji was grinning, almost like an idiot but Taiga could not resist appreciating the adoring look on his face. She felt her cheeks brighten up and turned back to the mirror and distracted herself with fixing her hair. Which was a futile attempt given that her flush is evident in her reflection and Ryuuji's expression only ascertained that her embarrassment had not gone unnoticed.

'You're beautiful tonight, Taiga.' He could feel his own cheeks pinking in response to Taiga's shyness, the mood was spreading through the air like warm sun rays and he seemed to have been infected by it as well. He moved a little closer and gave an assuring pat to her head, 'Just what you are fussing over? Is it your hair, dead ends or something like that?' Taiga automatically moved in closer to Ryuuji when he walked over, she peered at his face in the reflection, and responded in almost a whisper. 'I can't comb it right for the dress somehow, can't choose what hair do to wear tonight either. I think I'm, too nervous.' She shied away from his eyes, with Ryuuji she found it impossible to resist sharing her feelings, sometimes it feels like he has to be the only one in the whole world who understood her insecurities. But these days, half her insecurities involved him and it made her doubly nervous and uncertain if sharing with him would be ideal.

'Here, let me help you,' swiftly Ryuuji took over her comb and brushed through her soft chestnut hair. He breathed in the sakura scent from her hair as quietly as he could and enjoyed the peace it brought him. 'Let's leave your hair down for tonight, but we can add a little something to it.' At the sound of a _click,_ Taiga felt him fasten something onto her hair and caught it in their reflection. 'It's so pretty! Isn't this the lace-flower ribbon that Baka-chi modelled before? I hate to admit but I really wanted it, and – you knew!'

She turned excitedly to face him, her sudden movement bringing their proximity closer than before, and she caught him staring at her lips. 'I did,' he breathed out slowly, standing still as he continued to watch her pink glossy lips she had coloured for their date night. He broke out of the trance when he recalled their reservations at a romantic restaurant that Minori had recommended, and back away swiftly to restrain from ruining their date night by becoming _distracted_. 'Hey, we're almost late now. Are we ready to go?'

He turned to look at Taiga, only to realize that she was all fours on the floor, her lips in a slight pout as she stared at the tatami mat in shock. Ryuuji swallowed loudly when he realized that he had just backed away from an Taiga's attempted kiss, leaving her in this, state. He tried to think fast on his feet for a solution to resolve this overtly awkward situation, but not before he gently lifted Taiga to her feet and waited for the inevitable outburst. Instead of lashing out at him in her awkwardness, he watched in surprise as she hurriedly pick up her handbag and moved to the door to fasten on her heels. Ryuuji walked behind her uncertainly and watched her actions carefully as his mind whirled through possible ways to make up for that unfortunate timing earlier on.

The moment they were out of the door and walking towards the restaurant, Ryuuji recalled Ami's teaching on the best practices of an outstanding boyfriend. He scooped up Taiga's hand and put it under his own, and walked beside her with the dignity of a bodyguard. Taiga looked up surprised and pinched her lips together to repress a chuckle as she walked beside him in their new pretend roles – princess and knight, according to Ryuuji's recent behaviour. He guided her by arm up a flight of stairs and when she made to readjust her heel strap, he immediately went on one knee to help her adjust for comfort. Taiga felt infinitely pleased with his performance.

When they arrived at the restaurant entrance ten minutes later, they were both eager to get out of the cold and walk into the beautiful restaurant flooded by orange lights and warmth. The attendant at the door greeted them with a smile initially, but swallowed hard when he caught Ryuuji's expression. He addressed them as politely as he could and walked them to their table, but Taiga could not help noticing his panicked walk as he scurried away from them. A waitress walked over to take their orders, but just like the former waiter's reaction, her smile quickly melted away into a nervous demeanour as she scribbled frantically on her notepad. When Ryuuji's hand slipped and dropped a fork, she jumped half the height of their table and scurried away in frenzy. Taiga and Ryuuji looked at each other in surprised while they remained clueless to what gave rise to this onslaught of strange behaviour.

'Oh, you two are here too. Tsk, is our neighbourhood really that small that I have to run into either of you wherever I go?' Standing next to their table was Ami, who looked fabulous wearing a maroon V-cut dress and even more impressive with a disdainful smile. 'Oh, it's baka-chi. And I thought why I smelt puppies in here. So it was you.' Ami gave Taiga a mock glare, but when she noticed the clip on Taiga's hair, she turned to praise Ryuuji for his wise decision when she caught his look and gave a yelp. 'Why are you looking like death? For Taiga's sake, smile Ryuuji and take that _I would kill you if you go too near my princess_ look off your face!' Ryuuji's eyes widened in shock, 'What are you talking about? Is that why they were all – but I was trying to be a gentleman! Just like you said I should!'

Ami roared with laughter and everyone looked at her in shock, and she quickly adjusted her volume befitting a demure model. 'You can do better than that Ryuuji by first wiping that scowl off your face and actually FEEL like a gentleman before pretending to LOOK like one!' At that, she quickly returned to her date who watched the scene in amusement. Ami and Ken been dating for a few months and the fact that they stayed together despite knowing Ami's true nature was highly assuring.

Ryuuji scowled at Ami's words, feeling a little hurt. 'Hey, don't scowl, now you're just doing what she says! Just be yourself, what you did there was refreshing but I don't mind you being the klutz you are.' Taiga's words went through his heart like an arrow, but he forced a smile back to her. Minutes into the dinner, Taiga stood up and left for the restroom and just as she walked past an arguing couple, she tripped and dragged the yelling girlfriend down and soon they were both soaked in red wine. Just as she was about to turn on Taiga and scream at her, Ryuuji swooped in and draped his coat around Taiga and stared back at the girlfriend. 'We truly apologise for what happened, it was an accident, I believe caused by you standing abruptly in your chair and bumping MY girl off her feet and then she involuntarily dragged you down in response.' The yelling woman bit back her tongue and looked scarlet as she fled the scene with her bag and coat. 'Yeah, just leave you unreasonable woman!' The boyfriend looked back to Taiga and apologised for the situation and offered to pay for the cleaning fees. Ryuuji politely refused, and helped Taiga to her feet and led her to the restroom with his hand and took a clean napkin from the impressed waiter. 'Now, THAT is what I call a gentleman,' Ami noted with appreciation as she watched the scene unfold.

Once they reached the restroom, Ryuuji gently dabbed the napkin on Taiga's face to clean up. Just as he began drying her hair, he sneaked another sniff and laughed softly, 'Now you smell like red wine instead of Sakura.' Taiga looked up at him indignantly and punched him playfully on his chest, 'Stop sniffing me like that, you dog!' Suddenly, they were both very aware of their close proximity and their hearts pumped faster as their breathing grew rapid, Ryuuji watched Taiga's expression intently and gently whispered, 'Taiga, you can kiss me anytime you want. Don't you overthink it, anytime I welcome your kis –'

Before he could even finish assuring Taiga, she pressed her lips against his and murmured softly while he responded gently with his lips. She reluctantly pulled away when they both started needing air, and she spoke with a smile across her face, 'And you can be a gentleman whenever you wish, to me you would always be my knight in shining armour.' Ryuuji pulled her into a hug when they both froze in realization, 'Oops, I forgot about the red wine incident.' He looked down and his white button-down shirt now sported blotches of red. They both laughed at their stupid antics and returned to their seat moments later.

The remaining Valentine's night went delightfully well as the couple were free from any more mishaps.


	16. Stress, relief and revelation

_Well, someone actually requested for some __**jealousy**__ this chapter, and so there would be (Ho,ho,ho) although I must say, there was slight flashes of jealousy between the couple in Chapter 4 and 9 so if you're interested in the jealous episodes, check them out!_

_And I have to admit, I'm still in the whole celebration seasons mood so I'm dishing out this chapter with loads of happiness!_

_-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-_

**Chapter 15: Stress, relief and revelation**

'Help me, Minorin! You definitely must help me out!' Taiga lined her palms together and bowed a handsome ninety degrees before her best friend. Minori watched Taiga from the corners of her eyes seemingly unimpressed by her antics, she sneered before speaking, 'So it has come to this has it? All must bow before the almighty Minori-sama! BWA-HAHA-HAHA!'

The passer-by watched the duo in curiosity and a tinge of wary, when Minori whipped out her secret weapon from her bag everyone jumped a good distance away from the duo. 'Taiga, this is the source of all my knowledge and wisdom, and surely it will be of great help for you. I hereby declare that I, Mirori-sama, the fifteenth generation of sages shall allow you to inherit – '

Taiga shook her friend in desperation, willing her words to get through, 'that is not what I need Minori! I need you to go shopping with me! If I try to do it by myself again, I'm going to buy the entire shop and I cannot do that! I need to reserve half the fund for the activities I have planned for the day!' Minori chuckled at her friend's outburst, and soothed her chestnut hair with a few assuring pats, 'Alright, alright we'd do that together then. With our powers combined, we are Captain Possible!'

'Minori, you're the best!' an overjoyed Taiga engulfed her best friend in an air-depriving hug.

They weaved through the streets like busy bees, flying from shop to shop and prowling through their finds. They first landed in a fashion-wear shop and picked out something suitable. Then it was the wallet shop, hoping to find 'the one'. When that did not work out, they walked through a couple of bookstores, some gift shops and rested once in a while for ice cream or tea. They were walking wearily along the streets feeling on the verge of giving up when suddenly Mirnori's eyes lit up in a strange, greenish glint.

'Ho, ho, ho! Taiga, I found you your ultimate winning trump card! This will definitely make him very, very happy!'

Taiga wheeled around excitedly to see what Minorin meant only to be greeted by rows of posters filled with sexy women dressed in equally sexy lingerie. Her jaw dropped wide open as she stood rooted and stunned by the shock-factor of Minori's suggestion and, how these women all seem to possess what Taiga does not. They pushed around with conflicting agendas for a good fifteen minutes, Minori trying to get Taiga to purchase something as a treat while Taiga insisted otherwise due to her inferiority complex. Eventually, Taiga was no match for Minori's endless bout of energy and purchased a graceful (hopefully) semi see-through nightgown in a deep maroon shade.

As they walked away into the sunset, Taiga quivered and pondered on her fate now that Minori has decided on her behalf. Just as they walked to the borders of the shopping town, the interior display of a shop catches Taiga's attention. The shop was large and spacious, and a comfortable lighting filled up its interior space. The area was lined with an array of furniture, all belonging to the beautiful Victorian era. A few frilly, elegant dresses and neatly pressed suits lay over the plush couches and strange equipment lingered in the background of the scene. Taiga felt the corners of her lips turn upwards, for she has found her perfect winning trump card after all.

On the morning of the much awaited event, Taiga woke promptly and hustled around the house in restlessness. Ryuuji was awakened by her knocking things around, and felt slightly worried that the weekend morning had to start with Taiga creating a mess out of something. He walked into the main room with his cleaning gloves equipped and a mask latched across his face for added protection. 'Alright Taiga, what did you do.'

He was definitely unprepared for the sight ahead of him, hanging on the clothes hanger was a smartly pressed blue shirt that had a light impression of checked patterns and hanging next to it, a set of formal pants also skilfully pressed. Taiga sat comfortably on the bean bag and she was the personification of beauty that morning – dressed in a floral pink dress that hugged to her curves and flayed out from the hips gracefully. Her hair is knitted into a loose bun, strands of her chestnut hair falls along the sides of her face, framing her fair heart-shaped face. The lace ribbon clip from Ryuuji is pinned to her hair and matches her outfit perfectly.

'Taiga – you're beautiful. What, are you doing, though?'

Taiga gave an innocent smile and fought back a triumphant grin as she told Ryuuji to quickly change into the prepared outfit as they have somewhere to go to. When they were finally ready to leave, Ryuuji noted that the weather was still slightly chilly and wrapped a white silk shawl around Taiga's exposed shoulders. Taiga felt her skin warm up as Ryuuji's fingertips ran over her shoulder, and had a slight illusion that his touch had lingered on longer than needed. Within minutes, they were ready and walking out into the streets, Taiga's heels clicking along the pavement in unison with Ryuuji's formal shoes.

They stopped by a café for breakfast, and Ryuuji commended on Taiga's choice of outfit and how it fitted him perfectly. Taiga made to reveal that she had to rely on his other clothing items during shopping to gauge the size, but felt immensely relieved that it fitted smartly. They went to the movies after that, and even though they would go for movie dates very often these days, today felt special to both. So Ryuuji insisted they take a photo with the posters, and with the help of a passer-by, they had that done and collected.

Their next stop was the game station, and while Ryuuji expressed concern about gaming in their prime outfits, Taiga had insisted that they do it as she really wanted to try getting the plush toy from one of the machines. An hour later they exited in defeat, and as they walk side by side with Taiga leading the way, Ryuuji felt a little sad that Taiga had to feel disappointed. He made a short detour to a flower shop and left Taiga waiting at the door, before reappearing with a small but beautiful bouquet of pink and white roses. Taiga grinned from ear to ear, and without thinking further, bounced on the balls of her feet and planted a kiss of Ryuuji's cheeks. A lip-stain on his cheek combined with his blushing skin, made Taiga laugh sheepishly. Once they've got it sorted, they continued to the borders of the town.

'Here we are, my last birthday present to you!' Taiga threw her hands up in the air as she stood before a vintage looking shop. Ryuuji's eyes travelled upwards to read the sign, 'The Victorian Photography Gallery'. Taiga nodded enthusiastically as she reached her hand out to Ryuuji, 'I want to take a photo to commemorate the beautiful memories we have created today!' Ryuuji flashed a smile and took Taiga's hand as they headed into the shop, changed into outfits and played dress and poses for their shot. They carefully picked out their best shot and requested for framing services.

As they walk their way home after dinner, Ryuuji stalled in his steps and pulled Taiga into a hug. Their bags dropped to the floor but he could care less for them now, he needed to express the happiness radiating from him. 'Taiga, thank you, I'm such a happy man today and it's all thanks to you. Plus, you really surprised me with this celebration ahead of my actual birthday.' Taiga's cheeks were pressed against Ryuuji's blue shirt and radiated in a pinkish glow, 'You're welcome. I'm happy when we celebrated our birthday too in November, in fact, I'm always happiest with you.' They stayed in their huddled position for another few minutes, before pulling away reluctantly. 'I love you, Taiga.' He bent his knees to get closer to Taiga's face, but was interrupted by someone shouting their names from across the street.

'Hey! So was the celebration a great success?' Minori ran up to them enthusiastically. The blushing couple nodded stiffly in unison. 'Ah, I must have interrupted something. But hey, no worries, I'd be going now. Hey, Taiga! Remember your killing move so flash your killing move, Sexy!' Taiga blushed at Minori's outburst, 'Stop – stop talking Minorin!' Ryuuji watched on in curiosity, trying to guess the meaning behind Minori's words. As he watched Minori walk away, he felt a sudden impulse to call her back.

'Kushieda! Thank you for taking care of Taiga, she really did a beautiful job today, so feel proud!' Minori continued to walk and lifted a hand to wave to reply, 'She's always been our pride, hasn't she!' As Minori walked away looking a little crestfallen, she wondered silently in her mind how much longer she would need before she can talk to Ryuuji like a good old friend again.


	17. It's not over till the tiger sings

**Chapter 16: It's not over till the tiger sings**

A week after Ryuuji's birthday, the couple were preparing a dinner together for their friend Minori. Taiga had wanted to thank and reward Minori for her patience during her flustered search for Ryuuji's present, and Ryuuji had offered to put his culinary skills to good use. A simple traditional Japanese dinner was undergoing in their little kitchen with occasional outburst due to Taiga's over-enthusiastic experiments. Although it gets a little tiring in its process, Ryuuji had a smile plastered over his face during the entire cook-out. Once or twice, his pride swelled remarkably whenever he smoothed over the mishaps in a matter of seconds and Taiga looked at him with adoring, sparkly eyes. It even felt surreal, but Taiga's advances had indefinitely softened over the past one year ever since their reunion and Ryuuji had come to realized that their bond had grown stronger than before. Two years ago, they stood in this kitchen helplessly putting out fire-after-fire, which made the flying cucumbers and cracked pottery now a definite sign indicating improvement.

The bell rang shortly after they had finished setting up the table, and Taiga skipped over to bring in her best friend. Minori looked at the table display enthusiastically and exclaimed animatedly, 'Wow, this is amazing! Takasu-kun is really an amazing cook! I'm totally impressed!' She gave an animated thumbs-up at Ryuuji, who scratched the back of his head sheepishly before responding, 'Well, Taiga helped out a lot this time round too. I guess that makes us a perfect duo that works with chemistry in kitchen. I was impressed by her too.' Minori fell short of a response and an awkward silence filled the air before she regained composure and laughed animatedly, 'You two are the best couple, ever!' Taiga pushed her friend to her chair while blushing furiously.

The dinner table was overflowing with dishes of Minori's favourites such as Takoyaki, Vegetable Tempura, Omelette rolls and slices of sashimi. The main course was beef curry with rice, with beautifully cut vegetables that had not flown through the air. They cleared out plate after plate of side dishes and drank bowl after bowl of Miso soup, until every plate and bowl were emptied out. 'That was super delicious, thank you for the food!' Minori clapped her hands together and bowed vigorously. Taiga's eyes brightened up dramatically as she jumped to her feet, 'We have pudding! I made those!' With that revelation, she ran off to pick up the pudding she left in the fridge.

Ryuuji and Minori sat on opposite ends of the table in awkward silence, Minori fiddled with her cutleries restlessly as she desperately tried to weave in a conversation topic. Ryuuji could feel sweat trickling down his back as he sat in the thick atmosphere, unwilling to let the mood get heavier, he said, 'You're really someone Taiga can depend on, she's blessed with a true friend like you. When you leave for team recruitment next year, she's going to feel lonely.' Minori continued to look down at the cutlery in her hand, truth be told she detested the thoughts going through her mind, and the fact that she had minimal control over them irritated her further. 'Well, she has you now, doesn't she? She's not going to feel lonely at all.' Ryuuji swallowed loudly, feeling uncomfortable with Minori's seemingly irritated speech pattern.

'Kushieda, have I said something wrong to anger you? You seem to be...'

'Sorry to keep you waiting! Here's the pudding!' Taiga's timely return put an end to the strange atmosphere between them. Just as Ryuuji and Minori heaved a sigh of relief, the doorbell rang and they all stared at each other in bewilderment.

When Ryuuji opened the door, he was surprised to find his classmate Kirisawa standing in the doorway with her hand stretched out before her, presenting him a bag. 'Ta- Ta- Takasu-kun! I'm sorry for forgetting your birthday last week! This is a token of my appreciation, _and love_, please accept it!'

Ryuuji's mind whirled with her words, unable to believe that his stalker for a year had found his address somehow. He stood rooted and stunned until he felt a burning presence from behind. Taiga had walked over in curiosity, and heard Kirisawa's ultimate confession from nowhere, and was evidently, furious! Ryuuji had turned around to calm her down, when Minori jumped between Taiga and Kirisawa and pointed at Kirisawa while clicking her tongue.

'You! You're crazy! Have you not seen these two together? They are SUPER-LOVEY-DOVEY! Taiga even buys sexy lingerie for Takasu, and with their hot and burning love, you think you can jump in and create a scene just like this?!'

All three standing around Minori bursted into shades of red, and Taiga reached her arms across feebly to try and stall Minori's outburst. 'Mi- Mi- Minorin, sto- sto- stop talk-ing!' Ryuuji felt the world spinning as he tried to absorb the gigantic revelation by Minori. Kirisawa stood in the doorway, looking ridiculous with her jaw dropped and her hands stretched out. But Minori showed no signs of stopping.

'Well, Takasu-kun is never going to accept someone like you, and now that he has found his perfect match you should give up now and leave the scene like a true loser! Even someone like me who confessed before would not be perfect for him! I speak the truth, retreat in defeat super random confessor!'

Kirisawa ran off in tears as Ryuuji and Taiga stood rigidly in place, still trying to absorb most of the shock delivered by Minori's outburst. Minori noticed the heavy atmosphere, and hit her forehead candidly while apologizing to them both continuously. She hurriedly excused herself, and thanked the couple for their hospitality before heading for the door. Before she exited the door, she turned around and threw up a V-sign before exclaiming in her usual enthusiastic voice, 'Don't forget the sexy lingerie Taiga! You two are going to really enjoy it!' The door slammed shut behind her, and the duo felt their embarrassment renewed in full blast.

Taiga turned her pink cheeks to face an equally embarrassed Ryuuji, who looked uncertainly at Taiga. Taiga smiled at Ryuuji, and spoke softly, 'I guess Minori still has feelings for you, Ryuuji.' Ryuuji sighed softly and nodded, before looking up at Taiga with concerned eyes.

'Taiga, I'm sorry. I didn't notice from before.'

'It's okay, I failed to notice it too, and I was supposed to be her best friend – how could I have not realized that?'

Ryuuji walked over to Taiga and pulled her into a hug and Taiga sighed comfortably and nuzzled her nose in his shirt. 'But Ryuuji, what she was trying to say earlier on, is that she approves of us, am I right? Although it is very much like Minori to react strongly whenever her emotions are in disarray, I guess we should have been more sensitive about it.' Ryuuji pressed his lips to Taiga's hair, he wanted to give her all the warmth she could ever ask for.

'Taiga, I love you. I'm more serious than ever before. I've had feelings for Kushieda before, but we never had a real bond. With you, I have everything I could ever ask for.' He pulled her into a tighter hug, 'It may feel strange to know that whatever we have built up until now was initiated by Kushieda and Kitamura. But I found you, and now, I regret nothing.'

Taiga hugged Ryuuji back, her eyes still heavy with worry. 'I feel the same way too, Ryuuji, but I need to be Minori's friend and be honest with her, and wish for her to be honest with me too. I'm going to need to talk to her.'

Ryuuji pulled back and looked at Taiga tenderly, 'Then I'd be here with you every step of the way. It may not be in my place to say anything to Minori unless she wishes to, but I'm always here for you, Taiga.'

Taiga smiled gently as she remained enveloped in Ryuuji's hug, 'I know, you have always been and I do hope that you will always be there for me.'

That night, Taiga thought for a good long time before sending a well-composed message to Minori, hoping for a chance to talk.


	18. If you're a tiger, I'd be a lion

_Before I close the year with one last chapter, I wanna extend my thanks to all my dear readers, this is in truth my first fan-fic and I'm glad to get the views and reviews and I look forward to receiving more of them! Have a great holidays everyone and a happy new year, marching onwards to 2013 and more chapters of Tiger's Balm! :)_

**Chapter 17: If you're a tiger, I'd be a lion**

_Let's meet at Sudoh-Bucks tomorrow for at 3pm, I understand that we need to talk._

The minutes were ticking by slowly, and Minori sat nervously by the window. On a Sunday afternoon, the streets were filled with clusters of friends, families of all sizes and snuggly couples strolling leisurely. Summer was drawing closer and the temperature ascends bit by bit, Minori clutched her thin cardigan lying on her lap and twirled it in her hand restlessly. How would they even begin talking about what happened yesterday, she ran the thought over and over in her mind.

Suddenly a frantic figure ran past the window, her hands were filled with bags that dragged along the grounds, and just as Minori's eyes registered the figure a nasty fall ensued. Minori jumped from her seat and was about to run out to help her friend, when Taiga walked through the doors of the cafe with her clothes in disarray.

'Taiga! Are you alright?!' Minori took the heavy bags from Taiga's small hands and straightened her blouse before they took their seats at the table. 'Let me get you a drink!' When Minori returned, Taiga had regained her composure and downed the drink in one go. 'OUCH! I can't believe I fell before a crowd! Everything must have been seen, I mean, everything!'

Minori roared in laughter, and gave Taiga a few assuring pats on her head, 'No you didn't. I actually saw you fall down, and Taiga is cute, even when she falls down!' Taiga wound her arms around Minori in a crushing hug, 'Minorin! Minorin, you're the best!' Minori felt her moods soar when Taiga made the remark and it always made her feel a swelling pride. She had come to realize on several occasions, that Taiga was like a sister she never had, and one that always loves her honestly and innocently. And Minori understood that it would only be right to return that honest emotion with a truthful confession.

'Alright, I'm ready to talk.' Taiga's expression revealed sincerity as she released Minori and walked to sit on the opposite side of the table. Minori took a deep breath and returned a look showing that she was ready to talk. 'Taiga, I love you. I never had a sister in my life and had acted boyishly with my brother so you feel like real family to me. When I leave you behind to pursue my dream in the near future, you will always be on my mind. And I think it has become apparent that Takasu would also be one of my concerns.'

Taiga's eyes grew watery with Minori's words, it was not sadness over the fact that Minori still had lingering feelings for Ryuuji but Taiga had felt similarly about Minori. When she first met Minori, she found the friend and sister she never had before. In both their lonely lives, they had found solace in each other's company, when she found Ryuuji she formed a partnership with someone she could not live without. There was no way either relationship can be traded for the other, they held different meanings in Taiga's life and she would fight to her death to save them both.

Taiga took out a mint-green album from the bag she was carrying earlier and set it on the table. 'Ryuuji had helped me compiled photos from our school days, I've never had the chance to share it with you yet, shall we browse?' Minori nodded with an understanding look and they spent the next half an hour laughing over the goofy happenings in their school days. When they had completed the album, both breathed a small sigh. Taiga dug her hand into another big brown paper bag and took out a grey box and carried it to the table slowly like it was filled with glass. She pushed it gently across the table to Minori, giving a slight nod to indicate that it would be alright for her to open it. Minor felt her hands turn cold, somehow a small voice in her mind told her that this box would change her life forever, and she could not find courage to open it. She looked at Taiga questioningly, and Taiga explained.

'These are letters that Ryuuji wrote and had wanted to give it to you during his imagined confessions. That idiot was hopelessly in love with you, but he was such a klutz that he had no idea how to tell you his feelings. And I had been trying to help him ever since we met, only to have been influenced by his idiocy and failed on several occasions. I wondered sometimes if I had tried harder, he might have already become a couple with you, Minorin. There were times when I felt that you two were meant to be.'

Minori swallowed back a sob, several emotions surfaced at Taiga revelation and she desperately made an attempt to compose herself. She knew the other side to that truth. For those few months during Taiga and Ryuuji's collaborated efforts, she had been evading Ryuuji's advances. Gradually she began to undermine his efforts even more when she noticed the duo's impeccable chemistry. She felt safe whenever she was with Ryuuji, but she also knew that Ryuuji came to be this dependable person through Taiga's influence. She had seen different sides of him with Taiga, but when it was just her and Ryuuji, he resumed the same old personality she had first known. It made it clear to Minori then, that Ryuuji and Taiga truly belonged together.

She explained this to Taiga slowly, about the truth that she had kept hidden from most of them, that her dream always took up more space in her heart than anything else. And that was why she had missed her perfect opportunity, and perhaps, that opportunity was never hers to have. Taiga listened, wide-eyed and surprised to hear about these revelations her friend who had always maintained a carefree disposure.

'Most of my guilt I felt was towards you, you know. I love you, but these old feelings always snuck up to me. I've never confronted them bravely but instead tucked them away into this dark corner, and that's how it always finds its chance to blind me.' Minori struggled with herself for a quick moment, and then continued to speak, 'It's just that I've met someone recently. And we get along so well, we share the same dream and encourage each other but I never felt the same security I did with Takasu-kun. I really like this guy, but he makes me flustered all the time and I have no idea what to do! And in the confusion of things, I had let my emotions get the better of me. I'm sorry.'

Minori remained still with her head bowed, her eyes avoiding her best friend as she struggled to keep her tears at bay. A gentle hand rested on her head before Taiga continued so speak, 'And for how long have you been keeping this from me?' Minori looked up apprehensively, 'Eh?' Taiga jumped to her feet and made an animated cheer, 'You promised to tell me everything! I want to hear it, every bit of your love life! Tell me who is he, what he looks like! Oh! Do you have a photo?' Minori laughed heartily at Taiga's outburst, the entire restaurant spun around to watch their little commotion, and Minori had to calm Taiga down to continue their conversation minus the stares. For the rest of the afternoon, they sat and talked to their hearts' content after emptying cup after cup of warm chocolate and coffee. Minori revealed a blushing expression several times into their conversation, and Taiga had taken a photo of it just to tease her. When the sun started to set, they decided that it was time they headed home.

As they stood at the entrance of the café, Minori and Taiga hugged each other one last time before parting ways. As they walked home in opposite directions, Minori spun around and shouted out to Taiga, 'Taiga! One day, I'd be able to hear all about your love life, just like wht you did for me today! Wait for me because I'd be ready, soon!' Taiga grinned from ear to ear and shouted back across the street, 'Minori you idiot! Don't scream details of our personal life across the street would you! Making me shout _I love Minori the best_ across the street is so embarrassing!' Minori waved as she laughed before turning to walk on in the direction home and Taiga resumed her way home to Ryuuji.

A few months later, Minori had set off to fly to Kyoto for the recruitment campaign, and Taiga received a photo in a mail from Minori. She squealed as she showed Ryuuji the photo of Minori and her new boyfriend in matching uniforms before a game with their team. Ryuuji nodded and watched Taiga's colourful antics with an understanding, they had not spoken about the chat Taiga and Minori shared but Ryuuji had known both of them long enough and had good faith in their ability to overcome any problems. And now, he felt relief knowing that the incident had come to a close without further complication. He regarded Minori as a true friend and had hoped that they would still be able to talk like old times, and from the way things are looking now, that does not seem too farfetched a dream.

At the back of the photo, Minori's message was scribbled in pink:  
_Taiga, I'm having so much fun over here! I feel like a lion back in the jungle and Shuu keeps laughing at how my hair looks just like a lion's mane! And hey, I realized that if you were a tiger, I'd be a lion! Shuu would be a silly pig that only eats and sleeps! Takasu, be a good dragon and take good care of our beloved tiger, okay!_

_Signed with love, Minori._


	19. Summer Breeze

_First chapter into the new year, HAPPY 2013! A little more fluff in this episode, just a little, might be the alcohol's effect from the season celebrations :p__****_

**Chapter 18: Summer Breeze**

As August began, the temperature on the grounds began to ascend and the air weighed heavily on everyone's shoulder. However, the summer break also meant that Taiga and Ryuuji had more time for each other and both could hardly conceal their excitement towards it. As plans were being drawn out, Taiga began to radiate cheerfulness and that joy caught on to Ryuuji who would hum a little tune at times. Taiga had mentioned during spring that they had never really taken part in any summer activities as a couple and Ryuuji felt instantly shamed. He hated to admit it, but summer being his least favourite of all seasons, had resulted in carelessness on his part and it had been compromised his mission to bring Taiga the best experiences as her boyfriend.

Taiga was amused when Ryuuji started to apologize profusely at her casual remark, but she could not deny that part of her enjoyed the attention he showered on her during their planning for summer. She knew far better than anyone about Ryuuji's gentleness and sensitivity but she also enjoyed the occasional eager-to-please Ryuuji who usually maintained a pretty laid back attitude. Of course, if it involved cleaning laid-back would be wildly inappropriate term to describe Ryuuji's behaviour. When they first met in school, these different sides of Ryuuji made her feel constantly challenged by their polarity. But he always made her feel safe, a security that she craved for since young, only to have found it in the man cleaning the windows before her eyes.

'Taiga, have you packed your bag for the beach? You know, you'd need to check if your swim suit is still in good condition. And if you need those – erm – add-ons you might want to start searching for them too.' Instantly Taiga's face turned into the shade of plum and she knocked over the tower of books she was cleaning, as she scrambled to pick them up she desperately tried to recover from shock. 'Sto – sto- stop worrying about stupid things like this! You– you- you just look forward to tomorrow! Anyway Ryuuji, I think you won't need my help here at home so I'd be loitering streets meaninglessly, meaninglessly you hear me?! I'd be back for dinner!' Ryuuji watched a panicked Taiga run out of the house with her purse and pondered on what he had just triggered off.

As Taiga ran out into the streets, she whipped out her mobile and searched desperately for her saviour's number. When the line got through she shouted into the phone maniacally, 'Baka-chi! I need your help! Meet me at the town's shopping centre as fast as you can! This is a life-and-death situation, you hear me!' Once Taiga felt that she had exaggerated sufficiently, she set out for their meeting spot.

'You have got to be kidding me! You made me run, all the way here, from my delightful afternoon out with Ken to help you pick a swim suit!?' Ami's voice thundered through the mall and faces turned in their direction as Taiga frantically pushed her towards the swim suit department. 'Don't start shouting that kind of nonsense in public Baka-chi! Do you want the paparazzi to find out that you were playing hanky-panky with Ken this afternoon! I would have thought that an experienced model like yourself had better sense, looks like you behave like a novice after all!' Ami shook her head in disbelief, 'I cannot believe you actually have a sound argument up your sleeve. Argh! You're as annoying as ever, you little midget! Come on! I'd prove to you I'm no novice, let's find you a swim suit to knock out that idiot dog boyfriend of yours!'

Ami weaved through the racks and picked out a dozen swim suits and pulled Taiga towards the changing room. 'Try EVERY piece I have picked out, and make sure you show them to me! If you dare as much as to skip one piece, I'm going straight home, you hear me?' Taiga made to argue, only to be silenced by Ami's threatening stare. Feeling defeated, she picked through the bunch of swim suits for her first try. 'Wha- what is this!? There's barely cloth on this, it's like a bunch of strings weaved together, and I can't wear that before Ryuuji!'

'Why not?'

'Because I rather die, it's so embarrassing to – to – to…'

'…to show some skin for you beloved boyfriend? Babe, get with the program! You guys have been reunited for two years, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to uncover the stage of your relationship! You probably kick up a big fuss if he accidentally walks into you changing or something like that?'

Taiga began to blush profusely as Ami hits the nail on its head and she is absolutely spot-on about their awkward tendencies towards intimacies. She ran through her other options of swim suits, and sighed in defeat, 'Fine! I'd try every other piece except for this bunch-of-strings piece that is hardly worth the price.' Taiga reappeared in a white two-piece with a hand holding her top in place. 'It's too big! I knew this was going to happen! I'm giving up!' Ami stepped forward and pushed Taiga into the changing room once more, and re-tied the ribbon at the front. 'There, that should do it! Half the models I meet are anorexic and their figures are even less impressive than yours. At the end of the day, it's not what you have, but how you present it. And believe me, this is enough to knock the winds out of Ryuuji.' Taiga began to blush at the thought of Ryuuji's reaction. After trying through a series of pink, blue and brown bikini suits, they have finally settled on the light pink set with lace trimming. Taiga joyfully added that it would match perfectly with the lace ribbon that Ryuuji had gotten for her on Valentine's Day and Ami's lips turned into a smile at Taiga's honest reaction.

The next morning arrived swiftly and Ryuuji was awake by seven to prepare their day's meal. He went back into the room to wake Taiga at eight, only to find Taiga already dressed in her summer dress. She looked absolutely radiant in the rays of sunlight weaving in through the window, her lean arms stretched up as she fixed her hair. It took Ryuuji minutes to recover from his daze, as he watched her girlfriend's graceful actions. They left the house by nine, and after a two hour ride on the bus, they finally arrived at the beach. Taiga fidgeted with the seams of her dress restlessly during the entire journey, until Ryuuji took her hand and kissed her fingers at regular intervals, never failing to smile gently at her worried look. Once they arrived on the beach, they picked a spot and Taiga moved on to change at the restroom. As Ryuuji began to set up their equipment, he noticed the number of couples on the beach and tried to pick up useful tips for his own date. When the shadow of a small figure interrupted his sight, he turned expectantly to find Taiga, only to be blown away by the beautiful goddess standing before him. Her long chestnut hair fell over her shoulders gracefully, and she had small pleats crowning her hair. She had a thin white shirt on, but beneath it her curves were shaped evidently by her pink-laced bikini. Her woven sandals matched perfectly with her feminine get up, and her fair skin stood out even against the pastel pink of the fabric. It took Ryuuji forever to recover from the trance state she set him in, and he felt immensely embarrassed to be staring at Taiga like a wooden block as people walked past them laughing.

'Ryuuji? Is this, okay?' Ryuuji nodded automatically, unable to peel his eyes from Taiga. Taiga giggled at Ryuuji's reaction. 'I had expected you to be surprised, but I didn't anticipate the part about you turning into an ice block on a hot summer day at the beach!' That bit of sarcasm pulled Ryuuji back to his senses and he smiled at his girlfriend sheepishly. 'Such rare instances happen whenever a dude realized how lucky he is to have a girlfriend like this!' It was Taiga's turn to blush profusely and she shoved Ryuuji playfully before running off to the sea with a float, beckoning Ryuuji to follow her. To Ryuuji's dismay, curious and less-innocent eyes started watching Taiga's movement, and Ryuuji felt an instinctive urge to roll her up in a towel. Or stick a fork into their eyes. He moved up to Taiga and pulled her close to his side, when she turned to face him he moved closer in and kissed her deeply. The people around them began cheering and whistling but he did not want to move away until Taiga responded to his kiss. Taiga dropped her float and moved her hands to his back, pulling him closer. When Ryuuji felt the hand on his back, rationality resumed and he broke the kiss to smile sheepishly at Taiga. Her flushed cheeks made it difficult to think clearly, but he picked up her float and moved towards the sea holding her hand. Once they arrived at the shoreline, he let go of her hand and plunged into the waters. _Now I'm thinking straight,_ he thought to himself as the icy waters washed against his bare torso. Taiga stood rooted to the spot, her cheeks still glowing in pink and Ryuuji smacked his forehead in disbelief. Knowing that he had hit another ice berg of their awkward phase, it is now up to him to fix it once more.

'Taiga? You okay? I'm sorry, that was totally inconsiderate of me. I just saw those faces and acted without thinking, let's forget about that please? I guess I failed as a model boyfriend huh.' He laughed nervously as he waited for Taiga's reaction.

'I liked it.'

Steam rose from Ryuuji's head when he heard Taiga's confession. Quietly, barely audible above the crashing waves, he asked, 'Really?' Taiga nodded and he was instantly ecstatic, electricity coursed through his blood and he jumped from the waters to sweep Taiga into a hug. When he put her back on the sand, he looked into her eyes and sighed, 'I LOVE YOU! I do! That was, something unexpected and I guess I was just –'

'Jealous?' Taiga suggested with a sly grin. 'Possessive? Greedy? Selfish? Hahahaha! Stop tickling me!' Ryuuji wrestled Taiga to the grounds and soon they were both covered in sand. Ryuuji grinned from ear to ear when they finally caught their breath, 'I guess I am. Like I mentioned before, I am a Taurus and from what I've heard we are a pretty possessive bunch.' Taiga shrugged, 'From the last time I checked, Scorpions are just as possessive so I'm not even a weeny bit afraid of what my boyfriend is capable of. And when I last read up all on the horoscopes, we are perfect for each other.' Taiga moved closer and pressed her soft lips against his warm ones and they stay locked in each other's embrace as the waves crashed endlessly against the shore.


	20. Autumn

_Hello! And welcome to 2013! I was extremely delighted by the new reviews shared by my kind readers, rest assured that all points are taken in and I'd be trying to improve as I continue to write the story. I'm not sure on one thing though, and thought I could get some opinions from my readers? I think with the storyline, Taiga and Ryuuji have certainly grown much (I hope you feel that they did too!) and their bond has gotten even stronger than before. What I can't decide right now is what is the next hurdle for my favourite duo? I'm on to something but at the same time I'm worried if I'm moving things too fast. Listen to me talk like a naggy woman! Haha, well, I'd be delighted to hear from the audience on this matter but let's move on to the story right now :)_

**Chapter 19: Autumn**

'Please, Taiga!' Ryuuji pressed his palms together and raised them against his forehead.

'Hmph! So you have resorted to begging? You pathetic dog,' Taiga folded her arms and slighted Ryuuji's plea with a haughty look. She brought her pinky to her ear, and scoffed at Ryuuji who remained in his kneeling position rigidly, 'There ought to be more sincerity in asking something this important from me!'

Ryuuji swallowed hard, and his brows knitted together as he sought for a tactical bargain.

'Let's have an awesome and scrumptious meat-centric dinner?'

'No.'

'I'd make your favourite desserts for the entire week, every night, for dinner?'

'Nope,' Taiga yawned lazily.

'Alright, I'm defeated, name your price.'

'It's simple, all of the above mentioned, and the fact that I would be going for the school trip to Kansai next month.'

An annoyed Ryuuji scrunched his nose, and looked down to the ground as he contemplated his options for a moment before responding, 'I cannot agree to that, I'm sorry.'

Taiga threw her hands up in the air clearly frustrated, 'How is this a bargain then, Ryuuji? You want me to consent you going for away with Kitamura gang for a few days but I'm not allowed to go for the school trip?' Ryuuji stood up and walked across the room to pour a cup of tea, he needed to stall for time before he could respond wisely so his actions were slow and deliberate. Finally he turned around in defeat and spoke gingerly, 'You return one day before your birthday. What if something happens during the trip, and I'm not there to help you? You're always so, so –'

'I know Ryuuji, that I'm slow and somewhat clumsy. And the last time we had been on a school trip I had almost fallen to my death and that scares you. But I promise to be back on my birthday, safe and sound. Do we have a deal?' Ryuuji heaved a long sigh and rubbed his forehead with his thumb, arguing with Taiga was futile, especially given that she was on par with him in terms of stubbornness. It was not his story to tell yet, but he had reasons for objecting to Taiga's trip and he had to admit that his paranoia is responsible to listing half of those reasons. While he sat there fussing about the situation, Taiga walked over and sat next to him, laying her hand gently over his. He welcomed the warmth from her hands, and pulled her into a hug and they stayed still for several minutes.

Taiga tried to make sense of their situation, but rationality which had been Ryuuji's strength, was missing entirely from this situation. He was worrisome over an unseen problem, secretive and dodgy with his responses – but despite so Taiga chose to trust him and wait patiently for him to reveal his cause. Ryuuji pulled away inches, and smoothed Taiga's chestnut hair away from her face before locking her lips in a passionate kiss. He may not be able to explain his reasons, but he could reach her with his feelings. And right now, they were overwhelmingly strong, and each time they argued and eventually overcame it, it grew stronger. Strangely enough, he never thought that arguments could fuel passion, and he was delighted to be proven wrong.

Taiga pulled away for air, but Ryuuji moved in closer and his lips swept across her fair jawline. A shiver ran down her spine and she desperately catches for air, but as his lips moved closer to her neck, her heart raced faster than it ever did before. He nibbled the pale skin on her neck gently, before resting his chin on her shoulder, and exhaled a satisfied sigh. Neither dared to move while they recovered their composure now that the air tensed up so much that even a careless breath would start a fire. But they were happy staying where they were, comforted by each other's warmth in the chilled air of autumn.

'Let's go shopping at the supermarket?' Ryuuji stood up and pulled Taiga gently to her feet and she nodded.

At the supermarket, they proceeded with their regular affair smoothly. They rolled the trolley from aisle to aisle as Taiga deviously suggested adding items off the list to the cart. At most times, Ryuuji denied her request with careful budget reasoning, and at other times he would nod and consent with a warm smile. When they finally arrived at the snacks section, Ryuuji sighed as he knew just what to expect. Taiga being Taiga would never ask for consent at the snacks section but launch a berserk mode as she chucked item after item into the cart. And Ryuuji was kept equally busy, replacing item after item back onto the shelf. But this time, he found himself smiling as Taiga tip-toed and reached desperately for a bag of chips millimetres out of her reach. As he walked over, Taiga turned with her cheeks puffed indignantly, pointing to the shelf. Ryuuji smiled and answered back, 'Alright, understood, let me assist.'

Without a second word, Ryuuji scooped Taiga into a princess hug and raised her to close proximity from the bag of chips but Taiga was busy turning red and waved her arms frantically in embarrassment. 'Ryuuji! Wha- what are you doing? People are looking, and I'm wearing a dress and this is embarrassing me!' Ryuuji had turned hid face away from the onlookers and Taiga and he muttered a quiet retort, 'If so, move quickly and retrieve those chips silly girl!'

Taiga spotted Ryuuji's flaming red ears and reduced into a puddle of giggles as the onlookers continued to stare in interest. Ryuuji turned to face her indignantly and spoke awkwardly, 'Stop attracting more attention to us, and get those chips already!' Taiga made a playful face at Ryuuji and folded her arms, 'I'm actually enjoying being carried like a princess so I'm going to take my own sweet time.'

Minutes later, the bag of chips and Taiga were chucked into the trolley and Ryuuji rolled them all into the dairy section. 'Let me down! You stupid dog, didn't you say you do not wish to generate commotion! Let me down the trolley this instant before I go berserk on you!' Ryuuji continued to roll the trolley around with a straight poker face, although beads of sweat were forming around his forehead. 'It's your fault Taiga, if you wish to act like a spoiled child, then I shall treat you like a spoiled child.' It was not until the supermarket's attendant had interfered and requested that Ryuuji let Taiga back on her feet before Ryuuji relented and ceased the raging commotion.

'All because Ryuuji was acting like a spoiled child,' Taiga scoffed angrily as they both exited the supermarket embarrassed.

They continued to bicker along the way until they reached home, and to their surprise, Yasuko was already waiting for them. She gave them a full-blown grin as she explained her rare timing, 'I took time off from work so we can eat together as a family! Yasuko is going to be so lonely when you two are gone for your trips separately!' They were both surprised by Yasuko's knowledge of their trips even though they have not had chance to mention it formally to her. But when she gave an all-knowing look, they realized that they had underestimated the powers of their mother. 'You two fuss too much over the small details, whatever you two have planned up your sleeves, Yasuko would come to know eventually. I have been working to level up my skills as a mother you know, so that I'd be prepared for my new role as a grandmother in the very near future!'

Both Ryuuji and Taiga choked on their rice, Yasuko's information seemed to indicate that she knew more than they let on. 'Nonsense, Yasuko! Stop random guessing things like this just for the fun of it!' Ryuuji's ears were flaming red as he retorted, but Yasuko's confidence never once wavered. 'Ho ho, Ryuu-chan, never underestimate a mother's instinct! I know secrets Ryuu-chan has been hiding even from Taiga. But since it is a harmless secret for now, Yasuko shall help Ryuu-chan keep it a secret!' She blew a kiss at Taiga who took in everything that's happening with shock.

The dinner continued with Taiga's interrogation and Ryuuji's feigned ignorance at Yasuko's words, with great effort on Ryuuji's part, dinner resumed in peace after almost an hour of chaos. He breathed in relief as he cleaned the dishes, thinking to himself weakly that his secret plan would be an uphill battle with the recent turn of events. He managed to rope in Kitamura and the other boys to help out, but the women in his life are upgrading the difficulty of this challenge bit by bit. _It has to succeed, no matter what!_ Ryuuji thought to himself in firm determination.

_Don't forget to give a +fav or +review if you liked the author's effort. Small encouragements like this are power fuels for us! :)_


	21. Finding our way

_Here is goes, can't wait to share the next development with you folks! Happy reading!_

**Chapter 20: Finding our way**

'Aisaka-san!'

Taiga turned around as the wind push through her wavy locks with a hand on her hat to keep it from flying away, and her skirt swayed in the wind. Today, she was the epitome of grace, and her colleagues were amazed by her sudden transformation. Their English teacher, Miyo, passed her a map in a slight daze as she gazed enviously at Taiga. They had finally arrived in Kyoto and their itinerary for the day mainly consists of visits to temples and Taiga blended with the beautiful scenery effortlessly.

'Excuse me? Can I have your phone number?' the stylish teenage boy had his hands in pockets and he exuberated confidence. Taiga peered at him from the corner of her eyes, and smiled gently at him before replying.

'Absolutely! Are you planning to enrol in Maya High School as our student next year? I'd be delighted to have a youthful and energetic student like you.'

'Stu-student?! Teacher?!' The boy sputtered and backed away, watching Taiga in disbelief.

'Oh, wow. So you are that old huh, I totally couldn't –'

Before he could complete his sentence, a timely punch met his face and he toppled over his side. The other teachers panicked and rushed over to assist the fallen boy, while Miyo tried to pull Taiga away from launching into another attack. 'Stupid little brat.' She crossed her arms and looked away haughtily, everyone around her shuddered at her condescending gaze, but nobody dared to reprimand her.

'Ai-Aisaka-san,' the elderly principal with a walking stick attempted a few words warily, 'it might be better to not-not generate too much attention like this. It will affect the scho-school's reputation.'

Taiga gasped when she realized her actions, and quickly bowed her head apologetically, 'I'm sorry for my actions! That was my fault, I'd reflect upon it immediately.' The principal let out a sigh of relief as he wiped his balding head with a handkerchief. 'Oh by the way, Mr Principal, I read somewhere before that excessive wiping of balding heads will only lead to further balding so it might be better to do less of that.' Taiga spoke the harsh advice with such a gentle voice, that the Principal was caught unaware and immediately spat blood. The rest of the teachers stepped in to pull the weakened Principal away as Miyo dragged Taiga away into shops nearby before more damage is done.

'Aisaka-san, look at these! These are so cute!' They had entered a shop that sold porcelain figurines of animals, and Miyo held a small poodle figurine in the palm of her hand. Taiga nodded excitedly as she scanned the other mini versions on display. 'Ah, this one looks like Ryuuji!' She picked up a figurine of a bulldog and showed it to Miyo.

'Ryuuji? You have a dog, Aisaka-san?'

Taiga laughed cheerily at Miyo's words, 'Ah no, it's my fiancé but he sure behaves like a dog sometimes!' Her grin spread across her face as she made the decision to get the mini bulldog for Ryuuji.

'Eh? But why would you choose a bulldog? Won't it be more appropriate to pick a cute or graceful looking one?'

'Why? This looks exactly like Ryuuji, besides if I gave him a cute looking one he'd realize that I'm simply being sarcastic. I would rather be honest.'

Miyo forced a smile to her face as she tried her best to understand the dynamics between Taiga and the absent Ryuuji, _it must be tough being her fiancé eh?_

That evening, the group of teachers enjoyed a satisfying dinner spread and then took turns to visit the onsen*. The night passed by peacefully, and Taiga was standing in the porch to watch the stars overhead while the other teachers were preparing for sleep.

_[*onsen – hot spring in Japan]_

Maybe the night was too quiet, or maybe the quiet gave her time to reflect, she realized right this moment she wanted nothing more than to feel Ryuuji's presence next to her. Truth be told, she had been nervous during the day, eagerly adjusting her behaviour so she would not cause trouble for people around her. Ryuuji always kept her in check, in his kind and patient way, nothing felt safer than Ryuuji's embrace. It was warm, gentle, and alluring. At times, she would naturally drift to sleep as they hugged and Ryuuji would carry her back to her futon afterwards.

Watching the night sky revived memories from their past, the night when Taiga pretended to be a bride and wore a veil, was also dashed with speckles of bright shining stars. The night when they kissed for the very first time, the air was also chilly but they shared warmth and it comforted Taiga. 'Hey silly dog, are you missing me?' Taiga whispered.

-_Back home_-

Ryuuji tossed in his bed, unable to fall asleep. It was impossible to ward off his worried feelings, throughout the entire day he jumped whenever his phone rang or whenever he heard a loud noise. He had an ominous feeling when Taiga left for her trip, but he feels that way whenever she's not by his side. He checked his phone one last time, but there were no messages.

_That stupid girl, why didn't she report her safety to me! _Ryuuji buried his face in his pillow, embarrassed of his thoughts. Truth be told, he had been pinning for a phone call or message from Taiga since she departed in the morning, and the fact that there had been none only made him feel more crestfallen.

He knew that sleep is much needed and he ought to be asleep by now, tomorrow would be a long day with Kitamura and gang as they set out to complete their mission. So he fervently tried to keep Taiga off his mind, but every time his eye shut close, she was there. He could almost feel her warmth. He could almost smell the familiar scent of her hair. He could almost hear the ring of her voice. But she was far, far away from him now.

'I miss you, Taiga.'

-_Morning_-

Ryuuji woke up to a sunny morning and he rolled over his side as he mumbled sleepily, 'Taiga, time to wake up.'

There was no response, and Ryuuji's eyes opened wide to scan his surroundings. Realizing that Taiga was still away in Kyoto, he felt the air leave his lungs and he slumped back to sleep. His phone rang and he answered it immediately, 'Taiga?!'

'No, bro, it's me Kitamura. Are you still sleeping? That's rare, we're thirty minutes away from our meeting time and I thought you would be busy preparing bentou by now.'

Ryuuji made an incoherent mumbling and Kitamura frowned on the other end of the line before speaking again, 'Wow you sound like you're having a hangover. Aisaka's absence makes that big a difference eh? I can see why you're all set on this mission now.'

'I'm fine. I just, I didn't manage to sleep until three or something. I'd meet you guys at the airport so pack your own lunches as I won't have time to make bentou.'

Ryuuji flipped open his phone again and typed a quick message to Taiga, even if she was not getting in touch with him, he would do it. There would be many things to attend to once they arrive in Hokkaido, so it would be wiser to drop a message before the time race begins.

_Taiga, I'm heading off to the airport now and may be out of reach. Hope you are safe and well, do have fun in Kyoto but BE CAREFUL. I miss you.. I love you.._

_-****__End_-

_Don't forget to give a +fav or +review if you liked the author's effort. Small encouragements like this are power fuels for us! :)_


	22. Words and actions

_Here it is! Freshly written and out of the oven! Some tears and sweat while writing this, ahhh, I wish I had the ability to animate my thoughts! Well, hopefully, the writing is good enough to help you imagine it the way I did ^-^  
_

~ ~_Something's getting closer_~ ~

**Chapter 21: Words and actions**

Today marked the last day of the school trip and from the looks of the itinerary plan, Taiga would be seeing more of the shrines today. She sighed in defeat, how is it that the principal did not come to realize that no matter how exciting it was at first to witness the grandeur and intricate architecture of Kyoto's renowned shrines one would be bored after visiting shrines for three days in a row! One look at her belongings and she knew she was in deep trouble, in the midst of her boredom she had translated all her energy into shopping and this resulted in the mountainous stack of souvenirs. Once again, she wished that she could just summon Ryuuji to help her out, but maybe this would also be a good chance to try and solve domestic situations on her own.

'Alright! It's time to start packing, and best to get it all done before breakfast!'

Her colleague, Miyo, returned to the room later on and gasped loudly. 'Taiga-chan? So that's where you have been all this time?! We have not seen you at breakfast and lunch, what have you been doing?!'

Taiga gave her bulging luggage one last pull but the zip sprung loose once again. 'I was trying to pack. Ah, it's past lunch already? Darn! Three hours into packing and I still cannot get this done!' Miyo watched her efforts in slight amusement before walking over to help her lift the overweight bag. 'Taiga-chan, we could go looking for another bag in the streets, maybe something big enough? There's no way the bag will be able to close with its current volume.'

Taiga's eyes lit up instantly at the suggestion of shopping, and she nodded her head enthusiastically.

They walked through the streets of Kyoto once more and Taiga took the chance to indulge in delicious Kyoto food, and had almost fallen prey to even more souvenir shopping had Miyo not stopped her time after time. 'Taiga-chan! Our priority is getting a suitable carrier bag to bring home the excessive shopping so we really should try to not shop excessively anymore!' Taiga gave a merry laugh and startled the very serious-sounding Miyo, 'Okay, okay I understand Miyo-chan. You just reminded me a little of my fiancé, he always spoke to me in a serious voice like this too. I'm lucky huh, to be saved by a motherly Miyo-chan even though I'm travelling on my own.'

Miyo's brows furrowed together and she resumed in her solemn voice, 'Of course I would act motherly, you know Taiga-chan, I am the mother of two incredibly cute girls.' Taiga's eyes grew wide as the information set in, 'Ehhh! I totally cannot tell! You look very youthful, Miyo-chan – Ah! I meant, Miyo-san!' Miyo smiled gently at Taiga's honest reaction, she could not deny that Taiga's honesty is refreshing to her, and of course the word 'youthful' made her heart lift off into the clouds too. 'And Taiga-chan, you are not travelling alone! We're all here with you, so when you face problems on your own please, tell us and we will help.'

Taiga felt her cheeks heat up and that probably had nothing to do with the sun, 'Miyo-san, do people always mature so gracefully like you when they get married?' Miyo watched Taiga with soft eyes and replied, 'They could. People are always changed by love, for better or for worse, to hold on to that elusive and tangential emotion we often find ourselves striving for the best. Don't you agree?'

A bell chimed from a nearby shrine and they both turned to its source, and they witnessed a line of happy folks dressed in traditional Japanese costumes walking out and most of them were throwing confetti into the air. Heading the trail are two very happy smiling faces belonging to a couple of newlyweds.

'Ah! It's a traditional wedding! How interesting, and the bride, she look so happy and so beautiful! It is true, Ryuuji's right! A wedding is happiest when you have all the people you love giving you're their blessings.' Taiga's pink lips stretched across her face into a joyous grin. _Ah, she's feeling it,_ Miyo thought to herself happily.

'Miyo-san! Can I please, do one last shopping before we return?' Taiga's excited irises danced in the depths of her chestnut eyes and Miyo found it impossible to reject her proposed notion.

When they returned for home, Taiga took a position in line waiting for taxi as it was an impossible mission for her small self to carry four overweight bags on her own. She flipped open her phone for the first time during her entire trip and realized that she had missed a message from Ryuuji. _Ryuuji! _She smiled to herself as she read the message, his honesty never failed to move her infinitely. She dialled her favourite numbers and waited for the dial tone to end.

'Ah, Taiga?'

'Ryuuji, I'm on my way home now.'

Ryuuji's voice trembled slightly through the phone and Taiga's heart dropped, _what happened during the past few days?_ 'What – what is wrong with you Taiga?! For the past three days I heard nothing from you, but you called me only on your way back?' Taiga's smile faltered, 'Oh! I was supposed to call? I'm sorry, I was busy buying so many things it slipped my mind. And I thought you might be busy having fun too, and all that.'

'...'

'Hey, Ryuuji? I got your message. I missed you too during my trip. In fact, it gave me time to think through a lot, a lot of things and I have a lot, a lot of things I wish to say to you. Are you home already?'

'Hm? Yes I'm back. I told you, I would be home before you right?'

'Ah, good, so I can see you soon. You know, Ryuuji, there are many things that came to my mind during the trip. Whenever I got into trouble, I thought back on how I would react to things that made me unhappy and back then, I would just get mad and violent. And then, I met you. I realized how much I changed ever since.'

'Yeah, you changed very much since the first time I met you. I have gone through many changes too, since meeting you. I never realized how much joy it would be to have someone say that the meals I cook are delicious. How delightful when someone says that my hands are warm and comforting. You made me realize that being with you, I found joy, true and honest, undivided joy.'

'What's with that? You're being mushy? How rare, Ryuuji!'

'Wha – what?! Don't make fun of me! I mean what I said. I love you!'

There was a brief moment of silence, and after a few seconds of sniffling noises, Taiga stuttered into the phone, 'Don't – what – why did you say that all of a sudden! You're so random! And I was just about to say something awesome! Be – be quiet and listen to me okay! Listen to me properly!'

'Yeah, I'd listen, I'd listen to you forever, Taiga.'

'I'm clumsy and I can't cook, and I can barely clean without creating a mess in its trail. And I'm forever in need of some help to just get my daily life going. So I might depend on you, a lot. And cry to you, a lot. And maybe sometimes, have silly fights with you. And yet, despite all of that, I wish that you would have me by your side. Because I promise to change and transform, in every way I can, I want to become your strength and become the tiger that can stand on par with the dragon.'

'You don't have to work so hard, let me be the one to work hard for your sake. I know that, I have no career now. And I am only graduating next month. And there are still so many unknown factors in the future, but there's one thing I know, that I want that future with you. Say, where are you now, Taiga?'

'I'm walking up the stairs to the door, before you hang up Ryuuji, can I say one last thing to you?' Ryuuji moved quickly on his feet and he was about to open the door, his hand on the knob and just before he turned it, he heard Taiga's declaration on the end of the line.'

'Ryuuji, marry me?'

Ryuuji flung the door open and pulled Taiga into a tight embrace, tears were streaming down his face and his voice was trembling and muffled. 'You idiot, you ruined my plan!' Taiga looked behind Ryuuji and saw what he meant - the apartment has been transformed completely.

Roses in shades of pink, orange and white filled up every space and in between the rows of flowers, there were candles scattering soft, orange ambers across the room. Beads of tears rolled down Taiga's cheek, she may have dreamt of something this romantic, but what lies before her eyes had ten times the effect of that from a distant dream. It was reality. Ryuuji became her reality, and everything.

'Taiga, marry me.'

_-_**_End_**_-_

_Don't forget to give a +fav or +review if you liked the author's effort. Small encouragements like this are power fuels for us! :) More action in the next chapter!  
_


	23. I dream your dream

**Chapter 22: I dream your dream**

'Taiga, marry me.'

'Eh?'

'Um, Taiga I don't think you're supposed to answer me with 'eh'? It's usually either a yes or, you know, the other answer.' Ryuuji's ears were still burning red and he wished to hide that side of himself from Taiga, for it was extremely embarrassing and he felt embarrassed enough now. But Taiga's answer was somehow unexpected, and he jumped away from the hug to read her expression carefully.

'Oh, of course I'm not going to say no, Ryuuji! I mean, you've already proposed to me before and I've agreed umpteen times and I thought since this time round **_I_** proposed it was **_your_** turn to give me an answer!'

'Eh!? That's not right Taiga, girls do not just propose to guys. Well, not common in Japan anyway. And if I've already proposed to you before, and was just about to propose to you again, wouldn't it have been blatantly obvious just what my answer is going to be?!'

'ARGH! Just say YES or NO you meddlesome old man!'

Ryuuji head-butted against the tatami flooring, he was rendered pathetic by the impact of being labelled an old man. With the side of his face slapped against the tatami, he looked around the room to admire his gallant effort at being a romantic – effectively ruined by their untimely debate.

'I'm going to speak now and please just let me finish what I have to say, okay?' Ryuuji continued to speak but he made no effort to straighten himself from the sunken pose over the tatami mats. 'I'm asking you, with the context and intent to marry you straight after I graduate next month, if you would accept these intentions of mine?' He straightened himself into a sitting position to observe Taiga's reaction, hoping earnestly that she finally understood what he had been trying to get across to her.

'EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHH?'

'Again, Taiga, either a YES or a NO would be a great answer to have.' Ryuuji twirled his thumbs in looping circles as he waited patiently for Taiga to absorb the full impact of the situation. Of course this unfortunate chronology of events was not his plan. The original line-up was supposed to be a romantic reveal – Taiga returns home to the beautiful set-up and will be treated to Ryuuji's specialty steak dinner then he would suggest beautiful details of their future married life and finally propose to Taiga his plans to marry following his approaching graduation. But the cogs have already been set in motion and he can never return to the beginning, so he tried desperately to salvage the best he can – with Taiga's pace of things he should have guessed that she would always have a trick or two up her sleeves to throw him off the original course of plans.

'Alright, I have a confession to make, Ryuuji.' Ryuuji swallowed loudly and every muscle of his body tensed as he watched Taiga shift into a serious kneeling pose. 'Well, Ryuuji, given the number of times you proposed to me-' Ryuuji's cheeks blazed a scarlet shade at that blunt mention. 'And all those times I never once considered saying 'no'. I have always assumed we would get married someday in the near future. And, as a matter of fact, I actually bought our wedding attire while… I was… in Kyoto…' Taiga's voice trailed off into a whisper towards the end of her revelation. Ryuuji nodded as he waited for the finality in Taiga's confession, and then her words hit him.

'You already bought – WHAT? Ha- hahahahahahha – hahahaha!' Ryuuji crunched into a curling position as laughter cramped up his tensed frame and he found it impossible to sit up straight from all the laughing. 'Of course you did, you always find the best way to surprise me.' He waited for the laughing to subside and he looked into Taiga's bashful face which made him wanted to tell her that expression was extremely adorable, so he leaned in for a kiss.

He thought it would be like their usual brief exchange, lips grazing lips and he would sneak a sniff of her floral scented hair when he presses his lips against her hair. But they pressed closer than usual, their hands grasping at each other's clothes to pull their distance closer, and Ryuuji was unexpectedly greedier. He unconsciously bit at Taiga's lower lips and weaved his hand through her chestnut locks to pull her in. She gasped in surprise and Ryuuji took that as his cue, and soon their kiss deepened and he found it impossible to let her go. Maybe it was the element of surprise taking over, or maybe she wanted to resist no more, she fell backwards in a fluid motion and landed on the tatami with a soft thud as Ryuuji pursued her lips unceasingly. Their lips remained locked in a passionate pursuit, each not willing to let the other go, until Taiga gently pulled away for air.

'Ryuuji, why do you taste of black pepper sauce?' He was still in a daze when Taiga spoke, so he returned her inquisitive look with a satisfied expression of his own before answering. 'Hm? Oh, that's right! Taiga, I made dinner! We're having steak tonight! Hooray-eh?' Taiga's eyes lit up immediately at the mention of food, and it included her favourite meat which literally set her eyes in a blazing mode. 'There was delicious dinner waiting for me all these while and you only decided to tell me, now?!'

Ryuuji winced at Taiga's sudden outburst but quickly focused his attention back on their original conversation. 'Taiga, that's not something to say to someone who just made the effort of proposing, yes I got that look alright, it's the re-re-proposal. It was supposed to be a romantic reunion, followed by a romantic dinner and then –'

'And then?' Taiga crossed her arms and eyed Ryuuji suspiciously.

'…a romantic proposal?' Ryuuji heaved a loud sigh at Taiga's unfounded suspicions. 'Oh of course, I thought you meant something else.' Both of them blushed at Taiga's honest revelation, and Ryuuji reached across to grasp Taiga's hand and pulled her towards the kitchen. 'Let's keep that proposition for another time. I'm sure you're mighty hungry after your trip.' He smiled gently at her and nudged teasingly. The dinner proceeded with Taiga squealing in delight every time she took a bite of the deliciously cooked steak. Ryuuji watched the scene with great pride, his hand reached into his pocket time after time as his nervousness chewed at him endlessly. As he alternated between his nervousness and bliss, he suddenly recalled the information he had meant to share with Taiga after his detailed plan of proposal.

'Oh, that's right Taiga. Actually, I've planned a birthday party for you tomorrow. It would be a great timing to announce to our friends about our plan. Not to worry, everything has been planned carefully during your absence so you can attend it without a worry.' Taiga almost spat out a mouthful of meat at Ryuuji's eager face, but resolved to desperate choking instead. 'Wow, talk about a surprise party, 'cause that's what I'm feeling right now!' Ryuuji swallowed hardly before continuing, 'and also Taiga, your mother and step-family would attend.' Taiga ceased pecking at her dinner and looked thoughtful, and Ryuuji felt a slight wave of panic.

'Don't wear that crestfallen look, Taiga, I promise you,' he leaned across to close up the hindering distance between them, 'that no matter what happens in the near future, and no matter what we need to overcome, I will always love you and support you. Taiga, would you be willing, to spend the rest of your life with me?' At the end of his proposition, Ryuuji reached into his pocket and presented a rose-gold ring with a bright blue gem elegantly etched on it. 'It's your birthstone, an opal gem. I'm sorry that I couldn't afford a diamond yet, I was planning to save the rest for the wedding – ah!'

Taiga jumped into Ryuuji's open arms in a flash and wound her arms around his neck, from the slight contact he could feel her warmth and his tension melted into a blissful smile. 'My little tiger, are you ever going to answer me properly with either a yes or a no?' He said teasingly as he buried his face into her soft flowing hair.

'Ryuuji, I love you. I love you! I love you! I want to stay forever with you!'

In that split second, Ryuuji came to learn that the word 'Yes' would never match up to the meaning of Taiga's unbridled and honest reply.

- End -

_And here's how the proposal happened. Well, knowing the dynamic duo and their comical chemistry I thought it was natural that the proposal would not proceed the way it typically does =p __**Thank you everyone for the reviews, the likes and the follows! It**__ really gives me confidence to test out bold storylines and magically inspires me - so I'm gonna be a tad greedy and say - keep them coming! Hee. _

_I'm also writing a couple of other fanfics for shoujo stories, if you're a fan of Dengeki Daisy or Ao Haru Ride, check out these stories from my profile :D_


	24. Dream come true

_Here's a new chapter following the latest development - our dynamic duo is working very hard towards their future! :)  
_

**Chapter 23: Dream come true**

The day of Taiga's birthday arrived soon after, and on the very morning, Ryuuji felt his nerves fraying as he went through his check list over and over again. They were inviting a small group of over ten so he took on the task to prepare for the party's food and had been busy at it since six in the morning. Taiga woke to a very busy Ryuuji and had a slight panic, and soon she joined in to help out with the cooking frenzy. Ryuuji had great hindsight and set Taiga on less challenging tasks like washing the vegetables or stirring the stew, however, he noticed that Taiga was becoming defter at helping in the kitchen and he felt a swell of pride. By late morning, they had the food prepared and soon Yasuko had joined in to prep for the transportation and they were soon on the road towards the party's destination.

Haruta had kindly offered his mansion's garden for the party, surprising everyone that he was in reality a rich kid, although Ryuuji had already known about this when he sought refuge in Haruta's place during a previous falling-out with Taiga. Within an hour of preparation, the guest began to arrive in small groups.

First to arrive was Ami and her boyfriend, both dressed to the nines and looking sweetly comfortable in each other's arms. Next to arrive was Noto, Maya and her good friend Nanako, who stood awkwardly, sandwiched between the arguing couple. Haruta immediately went forward to greet his good friends, teasing Maya and Noto on their obvious dishonesty about their feelings to each other which caused the couple to blush furiously.

Kitamura arrived at the party escorting their homeroom teacher Yuri who was dressed elegantly no doubt in hopes to snatch an unsuspecting marriageable target. Kitamura explained that Sumire was in the middle of preparing for a critical presentation in America and thus unable to attend and sends her regards in the form of a wooden Katana present, and Yuri who seemed unconcerned with the conversation had moved ahead to search for her prey. Taiga was overjoyed to see Kitamura again since he left for America a year ago, and was talking in such an animated form that Ryuuji could not help recalling back to the days when she would tremble uncontrollably just by standing next to his best friend.

Minori was the next to arrive with Shuu in tow. They rushed all the way from practise but still managed to look smartly dressed for the occasion. Minori smiled at Ryuuji and gave him a solid whack on his back, praising him for a job well done. Ryuuji smiled and thank her in return, reminding her that he had vowed to keep his promise toward Taiga. Taiga watched the scene and felt pure happiness, ultimately relieved that everything had worked out honestly.

Taiga's mother was the last to arrive and Yasuko pranced forward to receive Taiga's extended family, confirming Ryuuji's suspicions that the two of them actually have a good rapport going on. When Ryuuji asked Yasuko for her opinion on inviting Taiga's mother, Yasuko had enthusiastically volunteered to do the inviting and he first noticed that the two mothers seem to have been communicating all these while.

'Ayame-chan!'

Everyone at the party turned to face the two mothers with a stunned expression, and Ryuuji watched Taiga's mother warily only to be surprised by the change in her usual deadpan seriousness. 'Yasu-chan! Have you been well?' Taiga gave an audible gasp at her mother's use on endearment, and looked to Ryuuji with a remarkably shocked expression. After half a minute she finally managed to recover from her shock and turned to Ryuuji questioningly, 'did they just address each other on first name basis?!'Just as Ryuuji was about to reply Taiga, the mothers have approached the couple and Taiga's mother was the first to speak, 'Congratulations on your engagement Taiga, and I commend your efforts for the party Ryuuji. Your mother has been updating me on the effort you have put in to pull off this day beautifully.' From the corner of his eye, Ryuuji spotted his mother flashing a victory sign at him and he smiled in understanding.

'Mother, ah! May I address you this way? I apologize for any rudeness caused by this insolent request of mine!' Ryuuji bowed apologetically but Taiga's mother straightened his bowing posture, 'Don't bow, have more stand and gusto! If you intent to protect my beloved daughter, you would need to have far more strength and confidence than what you are showing me at this moment in time. Do you understand, son?'

'Yes!'

Ryuuji's outburst resounded throughout the garden and everyone turned to watch the commotion. Taiga tightened her grip on his hand and he felt comforted by the warmth of her small hands. He held her hand in a firm grip, and gently pulled her to the front of the crowd where everyone had been waiting patiently. They stood on a small podium set up by Haruta, Ryuuji could only guess that rich families like Haruta's always have one of this at the ready. From his perspective, he was overwhelmed with emotions to find everyone close to the couple present for his announcement, and from the look of mixed emotions on Taiga's face she must be feeling the same way. He also noticed that their homeroom teacher Yuri was talking animatedly with Haruta's elder brother who seemed taken by her comical disposition.

Ryuuji cleared his throat tentatively and the crowd turned their attention to the couple, when he felt ready he began with his much rehearsed speech, 'Thank you, everyone, for taking out time from your precious schedule to be here. Today, we would be celebrating Taiga's birthday and more importantly, I'm proud to announce that we would be getting married in two months. We have mutually discussed and decided that it would be a simple affair with those closest to our hearts, and that includes everyone present here with us. I – '

Ryuuji took a small pause and turned to look at Taiga gently before speaking into the microphone again, his cheeks flushed pink due to the sound of his amplified voice, 'I, Ryuuji Takasu, would take Taiga as my wife and promise to care and love her forever. So – so – so I hope that everyone would be present for our wedding and witness that moment!' Ryuuji bowed at the end of the speech and the crowd broke out in cheers and wolf-whistles. 'Ryuuuuuji! That was – what was – is that not what is usually said during the actual wedding ceremony instead!' Ryuuji turned to a flustered looking Taiga and smiled understandingly at her outburst, 'That is because I just can't wait any longer Taiga. I –'

'KIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS!'

Haruta's voice was carried throughout the garden as he untimely interrupted Ryuuji's confession. Ryuuji turned to look at Haruta with an annoyed expression and Haruta's girlfriend hushed the over-excited boy in a giggly manner.

'Taiga, I love you.'

Taiga's cheeks flushed a bright red shade and she leapt into Ryuuji embrace, they kissed heatedly as the crowd cheers on the lovey-dovey couple. The rest of the party continued with great food, music and presents from the entire attending guest list. Minori reminded Taiga pointedly about her 'ultimate secret weapon night gown' before Ryuuji's presence and Taiga punched Ryuuji haphazardly in the midst of her embarrassment. As the evening drew closer, the crowd retreated bit by bit and everyone left satisfied by Ryuuji's remarkable cooking. The couple gave thanks to Haruta for the help, and had even stumbled upon their homeroom teacher Yuri kissing Haruta's brother passionately just before they left the mansion.

When they were finally back home, Yasuko insisted that they abandon that ridiculous arrangement of sleeping in separate futon and gave them her present to the couple – a queen size futon. Ryuuji was torn between feeling embarrassed and happy about her present, but Taiga seemed to take this new development in peacefully.

'Ryuuji,' Taiga spoke she laid back on the futon in her sleeping robes, 'I'm so happy today. You were right years ago - there really is true bliss in attaining the blessing from everyone dear to us. I'm glad we went through everything to be where we are now.' Ryuuji smiled at Taiga with a contended smile, how is it that this girl is always able to read the first thought on his mind? 'I feel the same way too Taiga, I hope you loved your little surprise party today.'

Taiga gave a sly grin and propped herself on her elbows and looked at Ryuuji, 'I did. And I have a small return present for you.' Ryuuji raised his eyebrows and asked quizzically, 'And what's that?'

Taiga pressed close to Ryuuji's ear and whispered, 'I'm wearing my ultimate-secret-weapon-nightgown.'

With that one line, Ryuuji fell for Taiga all over again, literally falling on his face.

_-_**_End_**_-_

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	25. All our secrets

**Chapter 24: All our secrets**

Taiga pressed close to Ryuuji's ear and whispered, 'I'm wearing my ultimate-secret-weapon-nightgown.'

Ryuuji stumbled in the act of preparing their futon for the night and fell flat on his face, looking up his squashed face was red and poufy. Internally, he calmed his nerves and senses the best he could manage, and continued to gaze quietly at his mischievously ginning girlfriend. No, correct that, she was now officially his fiancée. They had taken a new step and now they were sitting close to each other on this square futon waiting for a future that used to be far out of their reach. She watched Taiga who sat on the futon, helplessly wondering what was beneath her robe.

_Breathe, Ryuuji, Breathe…_

Seeing that Ryuuji was busy processing the new information she had just revealed, Taiga began to plan her next move. She had gone into the situation blind and was clueless on what to do, but she felt that today would be the right day to make a move. Towards their future together as a couple, they had taken small and big steps along the way to be where they are now, and she wanted the happiness she felt today to reach him. Although this was a risky step for her – but she felt bolder following Ryuuji's daring display of affection earlier on at the party.

He took a seat next to her. She lifted her head to watch his dazed expression. He reached across slowly to hold her hand. She returned the gesture with gentle smile. She could feel his hands trembling and he could hear her heart pounding. Without a word, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin. In the quiet room, he leaned across and let their lips meet. The many moments they shared and built together made their common future so much more beautiful, so they promise each other to treasure every minute spent together. Their hugs and kisses may come and go like fireworks, but the emotions invoked would imprint in their hearts forever. They shared so much in common yet they were so different, and it made their life the most complimenting match for each other.

From now on, this is the beginning of an eternity together.

'You may soon be tired of hearing this, Taiga, but I love you.' Taiga opened her eyes and the sunlight streaming through the windows blinded her vision. Ryuuji's voice had woken her and she could feel his warm presence right next to her and she wondered how many more wonderful surprises are waiting for them in the future. The clueless stomach held no regards for such tender moments and protested with a loud growl. Of course, she was hungry! Ryuuji laughed heartily at Taiga's bashful display of hunger, her ears were red to the very tip. 'Alright, time for us to get up and prepare breakfast, would you help me, my dear wife?'

Taiga waved her hands frantically and playfully pushed Ryuuji's face away, 'Who are you calling your wife! I'm not married to you officially yet. No, I mean! Wait! Just stop… saying such embarrassing things you stupid dog!' Taiga was overcome with embarrassment and buried her face in her hands. Ryuuji smirked at Taiga's awkward outburst and gently peeled her hands from her face. 'I know you're hungry, **_dear wife_**, so let's just go have our breakfast now.'

To their greatest surprise, Yasuko had already prepared breakfast for them this morning – a simple but delicious spread of eggs and ham. 'Good morning, you two! I made an assumption that you'd both wake up late this morning so I decided to volunteer and make us some breakfast!' The couple flushed red from head to toe at Yasuko's words and returned shy gratitude to their mother.

'Ah! Ya-chan, I had ben intending to ask this since some time ago but the schedule was just too packed. When did Yasuko find out about Ryuuji's plans?' Taiga asked midway through breakfast, and Ryuuji wheeled around quickly to face Yasuko. 'Eh? Mother you knew about my plans?!' Yasuko nodded nonchalantly and watched Ryuuji with a seriousness she hardly showed. 'Mothers know everything about their children, Ryu-chan.' Ryuuji swallowed silently, somehow Yasuko had been surprising him non-stop these few days – and he suddenly recalled that his mother had actually became best friends with Taiga's slightly, just slightly, overbearing mother. 'That reminds me, and you've become good friends with Taiga's mother?'

Yasuko nodded with a smile and answered Ryuuji's inquisition, 'We are now very good friends! Although when we first met, we both lamented on how our kids have reached the rebellious age and would elope together leaving us behind! And then we got to know each other better we simply became the best of friends!' Taiga and Ryuuji regarded Yasuko in astonishment, that Yasuko was able to get along with such a difficult person so easily was both surprising and unnerving. 'Ya-chan, you're amazing!' Taiga was the first to voice her internal thoughts out loud and Yasuko beamed in pride. 'It's love, Taiga-chan! LOVE!'

'So Taiga-chan, if there is anything about the wedding that you need help with you can always ask your mother for help too. Never underestimate a mother's love for a child, no matter what had happened in the past, I can tell that she loves you very much.' Taiga nodded at Yasuko's words with tearing eyes and somehow, she could begin to understand the meaning behind Yasuko's words.

The next few weeks that followed went past at an insane speed and Ryuuji and Taiga were floored with preparations for their wedding. There were decisions to be made and plans to be put into action and instead of basking in their new status of blissfulness they were constantly swarmed to get things done. They wanted to hold their wedding at a traditional Shinto shrine and so had to locate one of a suitable location. Taiga had already provided their wedding outfit, but they needed to settle other details such as a photographer, plans for a simple reception and the invites to their friends. Ryuuji had to simultaneously prepare for his graduation ceremony although it was a relief when he found out that he no longer needed to attend classes. After two particularly long and busy weeks, Taiga was on the edge of losing her calm.

'THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!' Ryuuji jumped in his seat and slowly put down his bowl of rice and waited for the continuation to Taiga's much expected outburst. 'ONLY A MONTH OR SO LEFT AND WE STILL HAVE NOT DECIDED ON SO MANY DETAILS! And then there's that impossible photographer who keeps bargaining with us, and the invites to print keeps getting delayed and, and, and!'

Ryuuji caught Taiga's flailing hands and looked firmly into her eyes, trying to calm her down and hear him out. 'Listen, Taiga. It feels impossible right now but I have a suggestion so hear me out.' Taiga took a deep breathe, and nodded. 'Let's get your mother to help. Unlike Yasuko, she has gone through a wedding herself and would know what to do.' Taiga's eyes grew wide at Ryuuji's suggestion but she remained calm, and then she heaved out a long sigh before saying to Ryuuji, 'I think we should.' Ryuuji gave Taiga a thoughtful look and then suggested that they let Yasuko contact her.

'No, I'd do it. I can do it.' She returned Ryuuji's concerned gaze with a determined look and Ryuuji smiled in relief. Slowly, but surely, Taiga was transforming before his very eyes. Once in the past, she had relied on him for almost every situation in life – whether it was her daily meals or chores to keep the place neat and tidy, he was there for her. It surprisingly made him swell with pride to see that Taiga had matured over their time spent together and she was becoming an incredible woman that he is madly in love with.

Wordlessly, he leaned across and kissed her gently on her lips, her hands unconsciously found its way to his shirt and she clung onto him. When they broke away from the kiss, Taiga smiled gently at her gentle protector and spoke in a hushed tone she reserved for tender moments like this, 'Thank you, for always being there for me, Ryuuji.'

Ryuuji pretended to frown at her words, and teased, 'When are you going to give it up and start calling me your husband!' Taiga laughed at Ryuuji's pouting face and leaned her head against his shoulder, 'The day will come when I call you that before everyone who stood by us.' Ryuuji blushed at Taiga's words and he had to admit that he could hardly wait for the much anticipated day to arrive.

Although there remains the very long list of preparation, that sits in the corner waiting for them to conquer.

- End -

_Wooooohoooo, a little romance is in the air this chapter. __**Thank you everyone for the reviews, the likes and the follows!**__ I'm trying to infuse as much real life details I know about planning for a wedding into this, but I'm enjoying writing about their newfound state of happiness at the moment! Hope I didn't make anyone too nervous in the first half of the story, I just HAD to write that in :p  
_

_I'm also writing a couple of other fanfics for shoujo stories, if you're a fan of Dengeki Daisy or Ao Haru Ride, check out these stories from my profile :D_


	26. We call it youth You say we're growin

**Chapter 25: We call it youth. You say we're growing up**

She hovered over the phone, and paced restlessly around the room when she's not hovering over the phone. The courage to commit to this call was easy when Ryuuji and she talked about it yesterday. Now that it is just her and the phone, the heated internal battle continues. She thought about what she would say to her mother, and doubted her self-control – would she just burst in anger and start blaming her mother for the things that have gone wrong. Yet, at this very thought, Taiga wondered if her life had been a mistake after all.

Looking back at her school years, meeting Ryuuji and getting to know him was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. From two classmates with a mutual secret agreement to help each other's love agenda, they have befriended each other in honesty and slowly but surely, they have gotten to where they are now. Life is never without setbacks and everyone would need someone to cover their back in order to get through it. When Taiga was abandoned by her father and she was left all vulnerable, Ryuuji stood by her side to remind her how she was not alone. At the time when Ryuuji was about to lose all confidence in himself when Yasuko collapsed from exhaustion, Taiga jolted him from that sense of loss. They were the duo with Ryuuji's gangster-like face and Taiga's feisty character that everyone initially feared at school, but irony has it that they would share many tender moments in life with each other. From friends with an agenda, to comrades with a mission and now they have become each other's soul mate. Indeed, this was all that Taiga could ever wish for.

Taiga reaches for the phone determinedly and dials the number scribbled on a paper. When Yasuko gave her the piece of paper, she smiled gently at Taiga who felt warmed by her quiet understanding. Yasuko was a mother so different from her biological mother, and Taiga loves Yasuko earnestly and keenly just as she would love her own mother. Perhaps her biological mother was prone to making selfish decisions and had the tendency to exert control over every aspect of Taiga's life – but during the year apart from Ryuuji and living with her own mother, Taiga realized that this controlling aspect greatly resembles a worrisome parent. And perhaps her own recklessness is to be blamed, her character was one that required careful handling, even Ryuuji's attentiveness to her daily life proves this point true.

'Hello Mom, it's me, Taiga. I'm in the midst of planning for my wedding and I wondered if you would be able to help?'

…

'Taiga, I'm home! And I brought the invite mock ups for one final check before these fussy idiots reject them again, shall we have a – oh! Hello!' Taiga's mother's appearance definitely gave Ryuuji a major shock. Ryuuji blinked a few more times before he could finally register some words to speak, 'It's nice to have you here. I'm sure Taiga would be very happy.' At that, Taiga shot him a bewildered look and Ryuuji panicked internally for his stupid choice of words for a greeting. 'I'm – I'm very happy to have you here too! Please enjoy your stay here!' Taiga's head dropped and slammed against the table top, but her mother reacted promptly and pulled her back into a sitting position by her collar. 'It is okay, Ryuuji. I'm fully aware that you fear me on some levels, _after all you did semi-kidnap my daughter to elope with you before,_ but I also know that you have been a supportive figure to my daughter when I could not be there for her. So stop fearing me, and embrace the fact that whether you like it or not – we're family now. Or are you, in fact, simply a coward?'

Ryuuji swallowed hard, he had imagined it to be a stressful ordeal dealing with Taiga's mother, but this was taking it to a whole new level. He tried to form sensible words but faltered as his eyes made contact with Taiga's mother. 'Mother, don't do this! It's bad enough that you always regard me by your standards but Ryuuji is the best person to be by my side, so could you at the very least BE KIND TO HIM!'

Silence permeated the room and all three stared at each other tensely, waiting for someone to slice through this tension with an apple knife. But nothing happened. After a good few minutes, Taiga's mother broke down into peals of laughter leaving both Ryuuji and Taiga bewildered. She wiped the tears from her eyes and waved her hand animatedly, 'Alright, alright! Time to let you two off, you passed the test I set for you.' She crossed her arms and waited expectantly for the duo's response and they reacted just the way she predicted – 'A TEST?!' Both of them bellowed loudly in the quiet room, yet Taiga's mother remained unfazed by their loud statement.

She carefully inspected her nails as she continued to explain herself, 'don't look so surprised Ryuuji, it wasn't you I was testing out. Obviously, it was this small little girl who always had issues with independence.' She put her hand on Taiga's head, and measured her with a look, 'It seems like you've grown up to be someone who won't sit and wait for people to protect you or for things to happen on its own anymore. It was good to witness this transformation and the proof that you would fight for the person you are spending the rest of your life with says everything. The one thing I learnt from my previous failed marriage with your father was that if the hearts are not aligned, everything becomes impossible.'

Taiga's expression softened at her mother's words who smiled back gently at her daughter, 'You would be fine. I'm here to help you with the preparations for the wedding but it seems like you are prepared for marriage itself.' Taiga's lips trembled at her mother's kind observation and Ryuuji sat next to her to hold her shoulders, at that moment when Taiga spoke up for him, he had been immensely touched by this one act of devotion. It the situation was reversed, he was absolutely certain that he would do the same for Taiga without her requesting it. It was a rapport they built for a common future they now share with each other, and for their bond to be recognized by Taiga's mother, Ryuuji could feel through his fingertips just how happy Taiga would feel.

Taiga's mother stood up abruptly and clapped her hands together, 'Well now! It seems to me that the both of you have grown into fine adults and will no longer do stupid acts like eloping without luggage or money. At least I can feel assured now, I could totally imagine Taiga plotting her escape route just because she felt overwhelmed by wedding preparations. But, I suppose by the way she had proved herself earlier on, I can have a little more faith in her now.' Taiga blushed at her mother's accurate prediction, that thought had indeed crossed her mind several times. 'For now, let's just focus on the wedding preparations. You mentioned that there were some invites that requires validating?' She turned to look at Ryuuji who was watching the scene in pure admiration.

That day, they managed to sort out the invites, photographers for their wedding album and the invite list. When Taiga and Ryuuji finally had some time together alone, they were amused at how the chores they struggled for weeks were easily set in motion in a single day with her mother's help. And Taiga quietly confessed to Ryuuji how for the first time in her life, she finally realized how precious she was to her mother. Ryuuji smiled and nodded in agreement, he had realized too that, although Taiga's mother displays affection quite differently from Yasuko, deep down inside their love for their children are just as powerful.

- End -

_Sorry for my short hiatus! Had to sort out a string of consecutive events happening IRL and the health was not too great but now that I'm recovering the writing is back in action! __  
_

_Hope everyone love this small development, I always wanted some closure for Taiga and her mother. And this chapter also examines how love can take on different forms but at the end of the day can still have a positive impact on the ones involved. And before I proceed to write about the wedding - I wanted to focus on the one theory I personally believe in firmly - plan for a marriage, not just a wedding! I think Ryuuji and Taiga are very blessed to have each other and they are now excited not only for the upcoming wedding but for their plan to spend their lifetime together. Aww, happy endings make me so haaaappy! Especially since I can write about it and it is in canon! *sniff* Hope you all enjoyed the chapter too!  
_

_Don't forget to give a +fav or +review if you liked the author's effort. Small encouragements like this are power fuels for us! :)_

_And this will continue with a few more chapters, so +follow if you would like to keep reading it! *^^*_


	27. And I do, cherish you

Her palms were sweaty and the veins pulsed beneath her pale skin, in the mean time she is willing herself to breathe and calmly embrace the future even though that is proving to be the most impossible task at the moment. Behind the closed doors, fifty something guests are seated patiently waiting for the bride and groom to begin the wedding ceremony. For the past few months, she had gone through an emotional roller-coaster as she anticipates her own wedding ceremony and she could not wait for it to begin - except for one small glitch in the program. The groom was nowhere found ever since the morning of the wedding ceremony.

The first words offered to her from the groom's mother, Yasuko, was an assurance that he was only momentarily displaced and would be found on the map once more soon. Maybe after he got over his plausible diarrhea - or the shame that he had put on so much weight he can longer fit into his wedding kimono. Or perhaps he had intended to make a wonderful first meal for his wife tonight and went out shopping for ingredients. Taiga could not muster any effort from her side to register the offered suggestions seriously, all she could manage was to roll her wide kimono sleeves into a white ball of cotton.

Ami and Minorin was constantly on the phone, trying to reach every contact they could to find out the whereabouts of the missing male lead. Taiga's mother continued to mingle with the crowd without a care in the world, or the given chaos in the situation. Yasuko fussed over Taiga by bringing her drinks after drinks and constantly wiping the beads of sweat that trickles between her brows. They both knew that the cause of this was hardly due to the heat or perspiration, since this be a chilly morning in early February.

Finally, after what felt like a year, Ami's phone rang to give them their first lead to where the missing groom might be at the moment. 'Hello? Maya-chan! Did you manage to speak to Noto - what?! He had just woken up in his own apartment but had no idea how he got back home?! Why is he - THEY WHAT?! A bachelor's night in honor of Ryuuji on the verge of losing his -' Ami felt a dagger stare stab right from her behind and turned to face a ferocious looking tiger, I mean, Taiga. 'Ah, okay I'd drop Haruta or Kitamura a call to see if they are any less clueless than Noto that idiot. Keep in touch!'

Ami hastily hung up the call and returned to face Taiga with an assuring smile, 'I'm sure they've just lost track of time, I promise to find you that idiot soon and I apologize on behalf of that idiotic childhood friend of mine if he was the cause of this mischief.' Her mastery of her model-like smile and composure was something Ami had always felt prideful of, but now she faltered beneath the grisly gaze of the revengeful bride. Before she could come up with another set of assuring lines for Taiga, her phone rang once more and this time round it was Haruta on the line. 'WHERE IN HEAVEN'S NAME ARE YOU GUYS! APPEAR NOW OR DIE! I'M NOT EVEN JOKING ABOUT THIS!' She went silent as the other voice on the line chattered in a high-pitched voice, clearly the voice belonged to a woman. Taiga could only pray with every sanity she had left that this woman, would be Haruta's girlfriend, although the logic failed to piece together when she thought about their bachelor party that had taken place last night without her knowledge. Ami forced a cheery smile and Taiga could feel her veins tremble beneath her temples, and catching the uneasy expression on Taiga's face, Ami fumbled a quick 'Thank you' and hung up the line.

'That- that- that was someone they er- met, yes, met at the party and somehow she had returned home with Haruta and because Haruta is suffering from a major hangover that results in his state of temporary memory loss, he told her to give us a call to report that they were at the party till about four in the morning so the reason for Ryuuji's disappearance, is most probably- I mean! Definitely because he overslept. Without a girl! Because the girl is with Haruta so..'

'Isn't Haruta in a relationship prior to this party?' Taiga asked in an unamused fashion.

'Well I did hear that because they had a fight after your engagement party that they broke up, so technically, he is no longer in a relationship with anyone- as of yesterday. I would not speak for today, of course,' Ami continued to fumble with a frighteningly calm Taiga. As ridiculous as it may sound, the calm that Taiga is exhibiting is far more frightening than the outburst she had expected from her.

Taiga's icy cold stare continued to bore into Ami's frightened pupils as she ventured into the next question, 'This leaves us with Kitamura, your _dearest__ childhood friend,_ would you be so _kind_ as to give him a call and I _pray_ that him being the remarkably _sensible _mind of the group would be able to provide us with a _coherent_ update and placement of where Ryuuji is?' Ami nodded nervously and before she could even answer Taiga her fingers were dialing the phone in auto-pilot mode. Minorin who had observed the ongoing tension had given up calling anyone and came over to comfort Taiga, but the moment her hands touched Taiga's delicate shoulder, she felt a surge of electric current course through her arms. In the meantime, Ami had tried to inch away from Taiga in an unnoticeable manner but Taiga was following behind her closely. Ami waited for the line to get through impatiently as Taiga's ears perked to listen for any sign of life from the other end of the line.

The moment the call got through, Taiga snatched the phone over and changed the call mode to 'Speaker' mode.

'Ah, it's Ami. Hello! We were caught in a terrible traffic jam, but we are definitely showing up in - let me check the watch - we will be there in less than ten minutes time which would make us five minutes early for the ceremony. Ryuuji had overslept for the very first time in his life last night, and woke up slightly later than usual. But rest assured, he's all changed and in a prime condition for the -'

'It's okay. You don't have to rush over. Take you time. We're calling the wedding off, goodbye Kitamura-kun!' Taiga ended the call promptly in line with the end of the sentence, and returned the phone to Ami _quietly._

'EHHHHHH?! Tai- Tai- Tai- Taiga-chan?! Wha- wha- why are you cancelling the wedding? Isn't Takasu-kun on his way?' Before Minorin could finish her sentence, Taiga had removed her veil and was halfway out of the room. Ami passed her phone to Minorin and instructed her to rush the Kitamura gang to arrive as soon as they can before following behind Taiga, ready to do whatever damage control she can manage. She calmly followed behind the enraged bride while she formulates the best approach in her mind. Just as Taiga was about to remove her gown, Ami folded her arms in disapproval and regarded Taiga with a look of disdain.

'Well, well, well. After being in love for three years or so, you've gone soft haven't you? That's all to this, you're letting him off so easy?' Ami took a risky gamble and turned the tables on Taiga who remained eerily silent. Her hands were paused in mid-air, and she appeared to be contemplating Ami's observation. Seeing that Taiga had taken the bait, Ami threw the next line hoping that this would catch the fish for real. 'You should know that once you walk away, all he'd suffer from is humiliation that he could recover over time or money gone down the drain that could be earned back eventually. This form of revenge really doesn't hurt that badly, you know?'

Taiga wheeled around to face Ami with her tear-stained face, her make-up ruined by the tears pouring uncontrollably from her eyes, 'What about me?! Shouldn't the biggest hurt be losing me? Does it not matter that he could have cheated on me, and then appearing at the wedding only to leave me at the altar! Or that we get married now, but he decides that the other girl is better than me, that he would choose her instead! What about me, when all that happens!' Ami was momentarily stunned by Taiga's frank outburst, but she knew that she did the right thing, Taiga had always been an honest person but the way she reacted to Kitamura's call was anything but honest. And now Ami understands that Taiga was only trying to cover her hurt and insecurity with a drastic action. Her heart went out to the poor little girl as she pulls her into an embrace, hoping to soothe some of her hurt away, but Ami knows that the only person who could dispel it completely was none other than Ryuuji.

Right on cue, a breathless Ryuuji burst through the doors and ran straight for Taiga. His hands found hers and he held on to her tightly, vowing to himself that he would never let go of her no matter what she says. 'Taiga, Taiga I'm so sorry for making you feel this! I heard everything you said, but believe me please and let me explain, it's not what you think! I'm not letting you go even if you hate me now, or would never want to marry me again, you hear me? Not - oomph- letting you- oomph-go!' Taiga had been throwing punches at Ryuuji who had appeared so suddenly, her tiny fist packed with energy hitting him squarely in the face many times. But true to his conviction, Ryuuji held on to her so tightly she could not throw him off despite her forcefulness.

'Please listen to him carefully, Aisaka! This was all my doing, so I'd bear responsibility for it!' Taiga looked up to see the source to that voice, only to find Kitamura and Sumire standing in the doorway holding hands. She ceased her aggressive punching and tried to comprehend the full scale of the situation. Ryuuji breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Taiga relax in his arms, and as soon she she did, he wrapped his arms around her in a full-scale embrace in fear that she might push him away again.

'Please, believe me Taiga. I know that you talked to Haruta and Noto before calling me, but it's not what it all sounds to be. Sumire wanted to join our wedding and we got a call from her last night just as we were about to start the bachelor party that I have absolutely no prior knowledge of. And then, Kitamura and I went to the airport to pick her up which lead to a rather tearful reunion between them two and they decided to spend the very little time they have together for a candle-light dinner, a walk in the park, a movie-date and watching the sun-rise. And because they felt bad for leaving me alone,' at this point Ryuuji burst into a shade of red, 'I was with them throughout their itinerary and we promptly fell asleep in the park after watching the sun-rise and only woke up when the park's guard chased us out. So I was only able to return home and get ready about an hour ago - which I am terribly apologetic for! I should not have fallen asleep and the bachelor party had barely begun when we left for the airport so...'

'It's true, little punk. I must also apologize for my lack of better judgement for my sudden visit which I suspected may be the cause for Yusaku's rather poor sense of judgement too for insisting that Takasu-kun follows us around because Yusaku wanted to fulfill his duties as the lead groomsman although this caused more trouble than intended. So believe the man you were in love with all these while, even if you choose to not believe in me!' Sumire's convicted voice resounded the entire room as everyone watched her with their jaws hanging. She spoke of everything in such straightforward manner that you could hardly fault her for that honesty, and Kitamura watched her with such a glazed expression Ami felt a shudder run down her spine.

Taiga turned to face Ryuuji again and finally noticed his perspiring forehead and crooked bow-tie, chuckling at his disheveled look, she straightened his bow tie before making her first statement ever since her outburst, 'Ryuuji, you're already due to be married and yet there you go playing gooseberry at their presumably romantic date? Were you hoping to score a double-wedding notion by getting them well acquainted with the idea?' A loud gasp resounded throughout the room but Taiga remained unfazed, and Ryuuji could see from her eyes that she was up to a certain mischief. Perhaps he should have warned Kitamura and Sumire that Taiga was someone who could forgive, but not one to forget. Taiga turned to face the surprised couple and she noticed that Kitamura was slightly taken to the idea. 'So, Sumire, do you trust the man next to you enough for such a conviction?'

Kitamura held up a hand and stopped Taiga from continuing, 'Aisaka, let me do this. Kano, truth be told that thought had crossed my mind on so many occasions last night that I wondered if I should just ignore all inhibitions and get my thoughts to you. In fact, I may just be more prepared for it than you think.' At the end of that sentence, Kitamura went down on one knee and revealed a proposal ring from his pocket. 'Sumire Kano, if I am ever given the blessed opportunity to care for you and love you for the rest of my life, I would. Would you marry me?' For the first time in everyone's impression of her, Sumire blushed a shade of fuchsia and held her burning cheeks with her palms in surprise. 'You- Yusaku! How can you hijack their wedding after causing the groom to be late, and now blatantly steal the bride's thunder?!'

Taiga bemused by Sumire's flustered behavior, simply put up her hand and shook her head, 'I'm totally fine with it. It's not like he's asking you to exchange rings with him now, that's still my stage you know, little punk.' Sumire watched Taiga in aghast as she desperately tried to cope with the sudden turn of tides, Ryuuji smiled at her nervous reaction, he knew right from the beginning that there was no way she would deny Kitamura, especially after their bizarre circumstances last night which opened his eyes to their deceptively cool play on romance.

'Ah! Fine! Let's get this over and done with so that they can get married already. Yusaku! Listen carefully, I'm agreeing to this now but if you do what Takasu did to the little punk today,' Ryuuji swallowed loudly as he stole a glance at Taiga, 'if you ever do that to me, I'm - I'd -' Midway in her round-about confession, Kitamura lunged forward and pressed his lips against hers and everyone applauded for the newly minted couple. It took them quite a while to regain their composure, but when they did, they instantly reverted to their usual collected behavior.

'Alright, Takasu! Time for you to say 'I do' now, so let's get this party started!' Kitamura announced to the room loudly as he punched his fist to the air in a somewhat drunken state.

'Isn't he just immensely intoxicated with happiness now,' Ami remarked with a smile at her childhood friend.

- End -

_Sorry for my short hiatus! Sp. It took me a really long time to think of the next chapter. I had gotten some interesting feedback in a review asking for some SumirexKitamura scene and I thought - yeah interesting! But I had to find the right set up for it. This is it.__  
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_Hope everyone love this new development, nothing else spells disaster like a nervous bride and a groom caught in plans beyond his control but being the couple that they are they'd definitely resolve it and conquer it eventually. Next up, time for the real wedding! Perhaps I shall spare them from the insane drama and let them have a peaceful wedding? Hmmm, I wonder what I should do now...  
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_Don't forget to give a +fav or +review if you liked the author's effort. Small encouragements like this are power fuels for us! :)_

_And this will continue with a few more chapters, so +follow if you would like to keep reading it! *^^*_


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